Pittsburgh Officer Adam Skweres Faces Charges From Four Women
The Pittsburgh Police Bureau said Officer Adam Skweres has been arrested and suspended without pay, accused of offering to help women with cases in exchange for sexual favors.
"I can tell you without a doubt, at the preliminary hearing on Thursday, he will plead not guilty," defense attorney Phil DiLucente said.
Police Chief Nate Harper said the FBI and the Allegheny County District Attorney's Office assisted with the Skweres investigation, which is ongoing, and they want to hear from any other possible victims.
"The behavior of this individual is very disturbing and should not be viewed as a reflection of the conduct of the good and honorable men and women who serve on the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police," Harper said in a statement.
Late Friday morning, Judge Jeffrey Manning reduced Skweres' bail from $300,000 straight cash to a non-monetary bond and said he can be released from the county jail, but he must be under electronic monitoring and cannot have contact with any witnesses or accusers. Skweres must also surrender his weapons.
Citing the "concerns" raised by the alleged victims, the DA's office wanted Skweres to have a cash bond for his release.
"Our victims are afraid because this is a police officer who is accused of misconduct. We expressed that concern to the judge," District Attorney Stephen Zappala said. He added that there have been no allegations of any threats made against them or the witnesses.
Skweres, 34, of Lincoln Place, worked out of the Zone 3 station. Court documents show that his charges include bribery in official and political matters, coercion, official oppression and attempted involuntary deviate sexual intercourse (forcible compulsion).
Melissa Watkins is one of the four accusers. She told Channel 4 Action News that Skweres -- who had previously arrested her fiance -- came to her Beltzhoover home on Dec. 28, knowing that she was alone with her 15-month-old child. "He asked for oral favors, repetitively told me it would only take five minutes and it would get all of my fiance's charges dropped," Watkins said.
According to her complaint, the officer told her to "lose the clothing" and unzipped his pants, but she refused the sex.
"I've never had somebody speak to me like that in my life, let alone an officer of the law, a five-year veteran, somebody who's supposed to be a pro at doing his job and not a pro at being a sleazeball," Watkins said.
Skweres' father told Channel 4 Action News that his son intends to fight the charges, and he said the news has been especially tough on his mother.
"Just shocked. It comes completely out of left field. It's completely against his character," said Skweres' brother, Joseph. "His record stands up for itself. He's been in Army Reserve for 12 years, served on the police force for five, did a tour of duty in Iraq. If that doesn't tell you something about a person, I don't know what does."
Criminal complaints describe another incident on July 14, 2008, when Skweres allegedly told a woman involved in a South Side traffic accident that a citation would "mysteriously" disappear in exchange for a favor that would only take 20 to 30 minutes of her time and "doesn't have to be sex, we could do other things."
According to the complaint, Skweres briefly walked away when she became upset, then returned and looked down at his gun and told her that he would make sure she never spoke again if she said anything about their conversation.
"Officer Skweres provided Jane Doe with his personal cell phone number along with the station phone number and told her he would call or text her and tell her where to meet him for the sexual favor," the complaint said. "Officer Skweres then stated, 'Cause if you go to jail, you know what they're going to do to you there, it's not going to be as bad as what I do to you.' "
Two weeks earlier, an incident took place at the downtown Municipal Court building, according to the criminal complaint, where a woman was waiting to testify in another matter that involved Skweres. She said he approached her for oral sex, and he said he would either write a positive or a negative letter to the Allegheny County Office of Children, Youth and Families on her behalf, depending on whether she gave him what he wanted.
"Keep in mind, two of the allegations are back from 2008. No charges were filed for four years," DiLucente said. "If you were to take a timeline, that's a child starting junior high and then going on to college, so that's a long period of time."
In response, Zappala said the police chief and the city's Office of Municipal Investigations began hearing complaints about Skweres three or four years ago, and they kept working on it.
"They may not have had the evidence at that point, but when they got to the point where they did prosecute, we did file charges," Zappala said.
The most recent incident happened last Saturday. According to the criminal complaint, Skweres was dressed in uniform when he went to the home of a woman whose boyfriend he had arrested, and he asked her if she wanted to help get him out of jail and said he could reduce the charges.
Skweres fondled the woman and asked for sex, but she refused, and he eventually made her perform a sex act on him, the complaint said.
"He abuses the badge. He abuses the right to be a police officer by using that to get his own means satisfied," Harper said.
Police ask anyone else who thinks they may be a victim or who has information about Skweres to call the sex assault unit at 412-323-7141 or the Office of Municipal Investigations at 412-255-2804.