A Tennessee police officer in the US, Maegan Hall, who slept with six co-workers has broken her silence on the sex scandal, claiming her bosses ‘took advantage of her vulnerabilities’ and used it for ‘sexual pleasure’.
Earlier this week, it was announced that five police officers in Tennessee have been fired and three remain suspended following a scandal within the La Vergne Police Department.
Maegan Hall, the only female officer fired in connection to the scandal, came forward with claims that she was ‘groomed for sexual exploitation’ in a new federal lawsuit against the department.
The 24-year-old, Maegan Hall, was fired back in January, with an internal investigation finding that Maegan Hall and other male officers had been having sex while on the job and then denied doing so.
According to the investigation, Maegan Hall had been ‘engaged in a sexual relationship’ with six of the above officers – including two ‘while on duty and inside city owned property’.
The police chief and two sergeants were among those implicated in the scandal.
Since the story broke, Maegan Hall has become the target for sexualised jokes and taunting.
Maegan Hall has spoken out about the scandal in a new interview.
Speaking to News Channel 5 Nashville, she said: “I received harassing and threatening messages on my phone daily. I felt like I had been terrorized.”
Now she is suing the city in federal court, alleging a hostile work environment.
Maegan Hall said: “I know what most people are saying. ‘You could have said no.’ I get it. But my response to them is that I did say no, and he wouldn’t take no for an answer. Eventually, I gave in from the pressure.”
She concedes she participated, but under duress, arguing that the salacious details of the story put her at centre stage without telling the whole story.
She is suing the city in federal court.
Hall continued: “They isolated me. Shunned me. They accused me, and they blamed me for becoming a victim.”
She added: “My supervisors worked together to take advantage of my vulnerabilities and mental health, and they used it for their gain and their sexual pleasure.”
Maegan Hall said no woman ‘should ever have to endure this type of abuse’, and that what happed to her at the police department ‘should never happy to anyone’.
Maegan Hall was fired alongside four other officers and the police chief.
“Who do you turn to when the chief of police is sexually harassing you?” she asked.
“How can I get justice when the entire system, including the chief, not only condoned such behavior but participated in it? I was lost, and I felt alone. I had no one to turn to and nowhere to go.”
In a statement commenting on the investigation and resulting teminations and suspension, Police Chief Burrell Davis said: “This is a difficult situation for our department and for the city, but I want to be clear that the actions of a few do not represent this department as a whole.
“We have sufficient staff to cover all of our patrol shifts and I have full confidence in our officer’s ability to protect and serve. We are working diligently to rebuild the trust of our citizens and our community.
“We understand this will take time and diligence from our command staff and officers to repair the honor and integrity of our department.”
An officer at the centre of a police sex scandal said she was ‘desperate’ and ‘stupid’ after going through a difficult divorce.
Earlier this month, five cops from La Vergne Police Department in Tennessee were relieved of their duties after it was reported that they were having sex on duty and sending explicit images to one another.
A majority of the focus is on Maegan Hall, who is said to have had affairs with a number of her colleagues including sergeant Lewis Powell, officer Larry Holladay, officer Juan Lugo, sergeant Ty McGowan, and detective Seneca Shields.
In a report following an internal investigation by the police department, it states that Maegan Hall, 26, also had a threesome with officer Patrick Magliocco and his wife.
Although she initially denied the claims, WSMV4 has now obtained transcripts of interviews with the officers involved in the sex scandal, showing that Maegan Hall has now admitted to the affairs.
She explained how the situation spiralled out of control, telling the department’s head of HR Andrew Patton: “Me and my husband were kind of on the verge of a divorce and I just cracked and then it just kind of got out of hand.
“I got stupid, I got desperate, I guess, and guys are guys and they’ll stick their d*** in anything.”
When asked for clarity on the threesome with Magliocco and his wife, Maegan Hall said: “So his wife showed up and I think she had to work the next morning.
The Tennessee police officer has been fired.
“So, we were walking her to her car and on the way back we were just talking and we went to – it was some cut off near one of the shorelines – and we had intercourse.”
Nude photos were also said to have been exchanged between Hall and a number of other officers.
Elsewhere in the lengthy interviews, she admitted to performing oral sex on Powell inside a police substation.
Explaining why she initially lied about the allegations, Maegan Hall said she didn’t want to ruin Powell’s career and suggested she was concerned for her safety if she talked.
The ongoing situation caused a number of mental health struggles for Maegan Hall, who said she once ‘dry fired’ a gun against her head ‘so she could hear what it sounded like’.
Officers Lugo-Perez, Shields, Holladay, Powell, and Lugo-Perez similarly denied the allegations initially before confessing to their involvement with Hall.
Meanwhile, McGowan admitted to sending Hall a nude but denied ever having sex with her.
Patrol officer Gavin Schoeberl, who was suspended for one week, said he only received a nude once which he deleted.
In the transcripts, he claimed to have never had a sexual relationship with Hall and didn’t know about the other interactions.
Fired sergeant McGowan had also reportedly tried to convince his wife, Maegan Hall, and her husband Jed into having a sexual interaction together.
“Ty wanted to try to get Jed to have a thing with all of us,” said Maegan Hall.
“We played strip Uno and then V (McGowan’s wife) went out onto the patio with Jed. Me and Ty kissed for a little bit and then that was it.”
In another instance, the 26-year-old said she and Magliocco tried to convince their partners into a wife swap.
“When Mags was like right by us, and then on the couch Mags was like, ‘If y’all start making out, maybe Jed will get into, my husband, into the idea.’ And when we started making out, Jed was like, ‘No.'”
Maegan Hall, Powell, and Lugo-Perez, as well as McGowan and Shields were sacked following the revelations. Magliocco and Holladay were suspended from their duties. The investigation is ongoing.
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