Swain County Sheriff Arrested, Suspended from Force for Sexually Battering Women After Offering Them Help
According to the district attorney's office, Cochran was arrested by agents with the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation (SBI) and officers with the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians for charges of felonious restraint, assault on a female, sexual battery and solicitation to commit prostitution.
The 72-year-old has also been charged with violating the Cherokee Code, including two counts of oppression in office and one count of abusive sexual contact.
Cochran, who has been sheriff since December 2006, was suspended from his role as sheriff by Superior Court Judge Tessa Sellers following District Attorney Ashley Welch's request for his permanent removal and disqualification from the sheriff's office.
Cochran Offered to Help a Woman, Then Touched Her Inappropriately, Asked Her for Oral Sex and Masturbated in Front of Her
The charges stem from two recent incidents. On June 22, a woman filed a report with the Cherokee Indian Police Department (CIPD), alleging that Cochran had assaulted her on the Qualla Boundary. An investigation was then initiated by the CIPD, SBI and FBI.
The woman said she flagged down the sheriff's vehicle after walking away from a home on June 22 after fighting with her boyfriend. Cochran offered to let the woman sit in the vehicle because she was upset and crying. She accepted the offer, "believing it was intended to help diffuse the situation," according to court documents.
The woman told officials that Cochran touched her and asked her for oral sex repeatedly, attempted to solicit sex for money, rubbed his crotch, began to masturbate while she was in the car with him and asked her if she could keep a secret.
According to documents, Cochran allegedly told the woman that all she would have to do is say his name if she got into trouble and that he would help her.
CIPD Asst. Chief Caught Cochran with Woman Released from Jail in His Car, She Alleged He Offered Her a Ride and Then 'Touched Her All Over'
As the investigation into the alleged assault continued on June 23, CIPD Assistant Chief Josh Taylor saw a car matching the description of Cochran's vehicle on the Boundary. Officials said Cochran's car was "driving suspiciously" near the Cherokee Indian Police Department building.
Taylor continued to pursue Cochran's car and stopped him in a nearby driveway. Inside the car, Taylor found a woman who had just been released from the CIPD jail. Documents reported that the woman appeared upset.
Cochran told Taylor that the woman had called him from jail to give her a ride home. Taylor continued to follow Cochran's car to a nearby travel center where the woman left the car.
Taylor spoke with the woman at the center, who said she was scared of that "sick, perverted old man." She told police that Cochran had "touched her all over" and tried to get her to do things she did not want to do. The woman told officers that she was offered a ride while she was walking on the side of the road after being released from jail.
She said she recognized Cochran and agreed to the ride. When they started driving, she said Cochran immediately began touching her hand and arm. She said he later rubbed her leg and breast, and "when she tried to move away, he continued to reach further to touch her." Documents said she went to get out of the vehicle, Cochran asked if "she was sure she wanted to get out."
A hearing has been set in Graham County for July 7 to review Cochran's suspension, with a final decision to be made on his removal on July 21 in Swain County.
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