INDIANAPOLIS (WISH-TV) — A suspended Center Township deputy constable now faces formal criminal charges including rape and domestic battery.

The Marion County Prosecutor’s Office filed the charges Tuesday against Semorris Powell.

Investigators say the mother of Powell’s child accused him of assaulting her several times over eight months.

The victim told police the first incident happened in June 2023, after an argument during a phone call.

She told investigators that Powell was following her vehicle in his vehicle, equipped with emergency lights, and while he was in full police uniform.

The victim told investigators Powell threatened to kill her multiple times and refused to let her leave a Meijer parking lot for 40 minutes.

Prosecutors list multiple other incidents in the charging documents, including ones in August and December of 2023.

The victim also told police that Powell came to her home in January 2024 and forced her to have sex against her will. She said the couple’s 5-year-old daughter was in the house in another room as the attack happened.

The victim first reported the incidents to police in February 2024, and told police that she “had not reported the other incidents to police as she was afraid that Powell would kill her.”

Powell faces charges that include:

• Rape
• Confinement
• Domestic battery in the presence of a child less than 16 years old
• Strangulation
• Criminal confinement with bodily injury
• Battery resulting in bodily injury
• Intimidation
• Theft

A spokesperson for the Center Township Constable’s Office in Marion County confirmed Powell was placed on administrative leave in March due to an arrest for domestic battery.

The spokesperson also tells News 8 this second arrest will lead to Powell’s termination from the office.

He has not had arrest powers since his suspension.

Powell is the third person affiliated with the Center Township Constable’s Office to be charged with a crime this year.

Help is available for victims of domestic violence. Below is a list of suggested resources on the Domestic Violence Network website:

• Indiana Coalition Against Domestic Violence: 24-hour hotline available at 800-332-7385
• Indiana Coalition to End Sexual Assault and Human Trafficking
• The Julian Center
• Indiana Child Abuse Hotline: 800-800-5556
• National Domestic Violence Hotline: 800-799-7233 or text START to 88788
• National Sexual Assault Hotline: 800-656-4673

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