DANBURY
A former part-time police officer in Walnut Cove has been charged with 15 counts of taking indecent liberties with a child, authorities said yesterday.
Michael Louis Mabe, 51, of 1247 Hanging Rock Road in Danbury was arrested Dec. 21 by the Stokes County Sheriff's Office, arrest warrants say. Mabe is accused of taking indecent liberties with a girl from June 1, 1987, to Dec. 31, 1989.
Mabe resigned as an auxiliary police officer the day he was arrested, said Homer Dearmin, the town manager of Walnut Cove.
"I was definitely very shocked about the charges," Dearmin said. "He had been a good police officer in the time that I have known him."
The investigation began when the sheriff's office received a report on Dec. 11 about the alleged abuse from a member of the victim's family, said Capt. Craig Carico, who oversees investigations in the sheriff's office.
The family member initially reported the allegation to the Stokes County Department of Social Services in April 1990, Carico said, adding that he doesn't know whether the case was referred to the sheriff's office at that time.
No charges were filed against Mabe at that time, Carico said. And investigators are trying to find out more about how the initial report of the alleged abuse was handled.
Mabe was hired as a part-time officer in Walnut Cove on April 11, 1996, when Barry Conaway was the police chief, Dearmin said.
Before his resignation nine days ago, Mabe was working about 20 hours a month as a police officer and paid $13 an hour.
James Hill, the town's current police chief, is cooperating with the investigation being conducted by the sheriff's office and the State Bureau of Investigation, Dearmin said. The sheriff's office contacted the town on Dec. 18 about its investigation of Mabe.
Mabe didn't work as a police officer in the town from that time until he was arrested three days later, Dearmin said.
Walnut Cove has seven full-time officers and three auxiliary officers, Dearmin said.
Mabe's arrest "does not reflect on the current police department and its administration," Dearmin said.
"The town hires officers of good character who protect the citizens of the town."
Mabe was released from the Stokes County Jail on bond of $25,000. He is scheduled to appear in court Jan. 20.
jhinton@wsjournal.com
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