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Police officer accused of sexual assault
Lawsuit also claims other
officers botched investigation
By Shawn Daley, Editor
January 8, 2004
An Apex police officer has
been accused of sexually
assaulting a teenage girl and
three of his fellow officers have
been accused of mishandling the
investigation.
The accusations were made in
a lawsuit that was filed on
behalf of the 17-year-old girl.
The suit was filed in Wake
Superior Court in December.
The lawsuit states that Officer
Jonathon B. Penny, 35, drove
the girl to her Apex home June 4
after police broke up an after-
school party. While at her home
he allegedly forced her to per-
form sexual acts.
“Some kids got together after
school and were playing loud
music,” said the girl’s attorney,
Richard Gusler. “The police
came out to shut down the
music and kids starting running
out the back door.
“She was upstairs playing
video games and the officer told
her he had to take her home. She
was not drinking, there was no
alcohol involved at all, and she
told the officer she would drive
her own car. home. He told her
that he had to drive her to make
sure she got home.”
According to Gusler, once
they arrived at the girl’s house,
Penny asked for a tour of the
home. The girl had not been
charged with any crime.
“All the while he was making
inappropriate comments that
made her feel uncomfortable,”
said Gusler. “Finally, he asked
to see her room and she reluc-
tantly showed him.”
According to Gusler, that’s
when the sexual assault occurred.
When the girl’s father called 911
hours later to report the alleged
assault he requested that someone
ed of sexual assault
from the Wake County Sheriffs
Office respond to the scene. The
dispatcher allegedly refused to
send anyone but the Apex police.
The father allegedly also
called the sheriff’s office but
was still refused assistance
because his residence fell under
Apex police jurisdiction.
According to the lawsuit, the
Apex officers who showed up —
Capt. Steven Adams, Sgt. Greg
Towell and Sgt. Ann Moore —
mishandled the investigation
and did not follow proper proce-
dures for collecting evidence.
Penny is being sued by the girl
for assault and battery and
intentional infliction of emo-
tional distress. The Town of
Apex along with Adams, Towell
and Moore are being sued for
obstruction of justice and negli-
gent and intentional infliction of
emotional distress. The girl is
seeking an unspecified amount
of actual and punitive damages.
“This has been real tough on
(the girl and her family),” said
Gusler. “When a 90-pound, 17-
year-old girl is assaulted by a 35-
year-old, 200-pound-plus police
officer that has a gun and hand-
cuffs at his side, it is very tough.
“This is a terrible thing and I
wish we didn’t have to go
through all of this. But it is noth-
ing compared to what that girl is
going to have to deal with the
rest of her life.”
Gusler said he is seeking a
court order to have the Town of
Apex turn over Penny’s person-
nel files.
“I want to see if he has had
any other problems in the past,”
said Gusler. “I want to know if
there were any signs that he had
a propensity to be a sexual
offender.”
Penny’s attorney, Bob Clay,
said he met with his client for
the first time on Tuesday.
“I was very impressed with
him,” said Clay. “He has a won-
derful record as a police officer
and I’m confident he will be
exonerated.”
Penny was a police officer in
Raleigh for six years before
being hired in Apex in 1998
where he was promoted to cor-
poral and then detective.
“He is really distressed,” said
Clay. “He is in limbo. He has
been placed on paid leave and
could remain that way until this
matter is resolved.”
It could take anywhere from
12 to 18 months before the case
goes to trial.
“This is a career police officer
who has an immaculate record,”
said Clay. “Even if he is found
innocent it could still tarnish his
reputation.”
Attorney Dan Hartzog is rep-
resenting the town and the three
investigating officers.
“We are still in the very early
stages and we will be presenting
a much different version of what
happened,” said Hartzog.
Hartzog and Clay have 30
days to file a response to the
lawsuit.
Both lawyers said they were
unaware of any criminal charges
being filed.
According to Gusler, the State
Bureau of Investigation is still
investigating the matter.
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This Idol doesn't sing
By Hilary Caryl Russell, Staff Writer
January 8, 2004
Forget about American Idol’s Clay
Aiken.
Apex now has an Idol of its own.
Meet Kim Idol, the chamber’s direc-
tor of membership and events.
With Idol, the Apex community will
be getting an experi-
enced, advocate who
will be working hard
to ensure that area
businesses have
access to one another.
“Everything they
are currently doing at
the chamber, I have
experience in and I
hope to combine my experience with
their goals,” said Idol.
“Since I am new to the area I am
looking forward to getting involved in
the community. And the chamber will
provide a way for me to meet a lot of
different businesses and a lot of differ-
ent people who are active in the com-
munity.”
Idol, a newlywed, recently moved to
Cary to begin a chapter in her life with
her new husband. She’s originally
from Aiken, SC, but has lived in
Charlotte the past five years.
“I was the member relations director
for the Tower Club (in Charlotte), a
private business and social club, simi-
lar to the Cardinal Club in Raleigh,”
said Idol.
“The Apex Chamber position is very
similar to what I did at the Tower Club,
whi~h I really enjoyed. I also worked
for a non-profit television station,
PBS, so this position is really combi-
nation of those two."
Working with the community was
Idol’s favorite part of her work at The
Tower Club and with PBS.
“Of course any time you work for
non-profit, you have to really love
what you do,” she said.
Creatively finding solutions to chal-
lenges and new methods of marketing
businesses in the area is one aspect of
the chamber position Idol said
she is really looking forward too.
“One of my goals is to have
the community get more
involved and have the chamber
act as a liaison for networking,”
said Idol. “And of course I am
always interested in getting
feedback from the community
so that I will know what the
community is looking for.”
In her free time, Idol spends
time with her husband Todd, an
account executive for the
Carolinas at GE IT Solutions,
and their two cats.
She also spends time advocat-
ing for animal rights.
Idol began her job at the
chamber on Monday.
Time to help
fight cancer
Local ‘Relay For Life’
organizers look to Apex
for support
STAFF REPORT
January 8, 2004
Although local Relay For Life.
events are still a few months
away, the planning process is
already approaching full speed.
The Holly Springs/Fuquay
Varina Relay For Life Team
Captain Kickoff Event will be
held Tuesday, Jan. 27 at 7 p.m.
at the Holly Springs Town Hall.
Relay Teams should send their
team captains to this meeting
and can RSVP locally to event
co-chairperson Lori Towner at
lltowner@aol.com or call 567-
1403 if they plan on sending a
representative.
This is the first team captain
meeting that will lead up to the
local Relay For Life event on
April 16-17 at South Park in
Fuquay-Varina.
On those two days, teams of
walkers and runners from Holly
Springs and Fuquay-Varina will
join millions of walkers and run-
ners throughout the United
States and go around the clock
in the battle against cancer dur-
ing the American Cancer
Society’s signature activity.
Relay For Life.
“Relay For Life is the
American Cancer Society’s ver-
sion of a relay with a twist,” said
Towner. “It is a family oriented
team event where participants
can walk or run around a track,
relay-style, overnight.
“This event is about (local)
communities that join together
and take up the fight against
cancer. And, we need your par-
ticipation to make that hap-
pen.”
Towner is hoping to attract a
large number of participants
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1
from the Apex area. The co-
chairperson of the event, Diane
Luparelló, used to chair the
annual Cary/Apex/Morrisville
(CAM) Relay For Life for sev-
eral years.
This year’s CAM relay will be
held May 15-16.
“Diane was involved in the
CAM relay for about five years
and I plan on staying involved
with that event also,” said
Towner. “There are about six
relays throughout the county
each year and usually partici-
pants and survivors are involved
in several of them.
“We are hoping individuals
from Apex and the surrounding
communities will participate in
the Holly Springs/Fuquay
relay.”
Each team has at least one
person on the track during the
entire event. Participants can
camp out and when they aren’t
taking their turn on the track,
they can take part in family fun
activities at the event. Teams
consist of individuals represent-
ing corporations, clubs, organi
zations, neighborhoods, church-
es, and families. Teams should
have at least 10 members, but
the total number on a team is up
to the individuals forming the
team.
“Relay For Life is as much an
awareness raiser about the
progress against cancer as it is a
fund-raiser,” said Towner.
“Many of the participants will
be people who are cancer sur-
vivors themselves. Their
involvement is proof of the
progress that has been made not
only in cancer cure rates, but in
the quality of life following can-
cer treatment.”
Last year’s local event raised
over $18,300 for the American
Cancer Society.
For more information about
Relay For Life, please call your
local American Cancer Society
unit at (919) 834-8463.
If you are looking for informa-
tion about the CAM Relay call
Angie Koch at 303-5050.
For more information about
cancer call the American Cancer
Society’s Call Center at 1-800-
ACS-2345 or visit our web site
at www.cancer.org.
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