Massachusetts state trooper suspended amid sexual misconduct allegations, I-Team sources say
LEXINGTON - A Massachusetts State Police trooper has been suspended amid sexual misconduct allegations, according to I-Team sources.
Police identified the trooper as Terrance Kent.
State trooper accused of sexual misconduct
The sexual misconduct allegedly happened during a traffic stop. It is unclear who brought the accusations forward. Kent was suspended without pay on Thursday, I-Team sources say.
He was previously suspended for eight days in 2023 after an internal affairs investigation involving abandoning an assigned post.
"The Massachusetts State Police does not tolerate any form of sexual misconduct, and we hold our members accountable to the highest professional standards," a spokesperson for the State Police said in a statement.
"When these serious allegations came to our attention, the Department immediately relieved the accused trooper of duty, opened an internal affairs investigation, and suspended him without pay following his duty status hearing," said a State Police spokesperson in a statement.
Kent graduated from the State Police Academy in 2017.
The Lexington Police Department and Middlesex District Attorney are investigating.
Mass. State Police scandals
State police in Massachusetts have been under scrutiny this year with an overtime pay scandal, the death of recruit Enrique Delgado-Garcia, and an investigation into lead investigator in the Karen Read trial Michael Proctor.
The new Colonel of Massachusetts State Police, Geoffrey Noble, was sworn in on October 4. He addressed the recent scandals the department faced when he was sworn in at the State House.
"We will aggressively address the challenges that we see," Noble said.
Noble oversees more than 3,000 employees which is the largest group of employees in New England.