IMPD officer faces charges for recording sexual acts while on-duty and in uniform

(Mugshot courtesy of Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department)

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — An Indianapolis police officer is charged with voyeurism and official misconduct after being accused of secretly recording sexual encounters with women while he was on-duty and in uniform.

Prosecutors say Shane Decker, a 25-year veteran of the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department, recorded the videos without the victims’ knowledge using a department-issued laptop.

The videos were found when another officer found Decker’s flash drive in a patrol car in September and plugged it into his laptop to identify the owner, according to a probable cause affidavit obtained by News 8.

IMPD’s Special Investigation Unit was assigned to investigate and detectives got a search warrant to examine the flash drive.

“In all of the videos, it appeared the females were unaware they were being video recorded as the recording device was set up prior to the females entering the room,” IMPD Sgt. Tracy Keithley stated in the PC.

Court papers say Decker appeared in full uniform with his radio on in three of the videos and, in one instance, asked a woman to listen for his radio number in case he was dispatched to a run.

Court docs say several videos show him getting sexual services from area massage parlors, some of which he had investigated for human trafficking. Police believe he used that knowledge to identify victims.

Police also say he surfed the web for adult massage parlors and can be heard saying he knows several of the women in the videos are victims of human trafficking.

Investigators interviewed many of the women. Most all said they felt “sick” and “violated.”

One woman did not agree to speak and another said Decker outwardly believed women were “worthless.”

On Sept. 10, IMPD Chief Chris Bailey placed Officer Decker on administrative duty while the criminal investigation continued.

Throughout September, October, and November, investigators served search warrants at Decker’s home and on his electronic devices. Detectives also worked to locate the victims so they could be interviewed and evidence could be collected, IMPD said in a release Friday afternoon.

“The allegations uncovered in this investigation represent a clear violation of public trust and are completely unacceptable. This behavior has no place in our society,” Bailey said in the release.

“My heart goes out to the victims of this inexcusable misconduct, and I want to assure them that their voices have been heard. I commend the courage and strength of those who came forward to help ensure accountability,” he added. 

On Wednesday, Chief Bailey suspended Decker with a recommendation of termination by the IMPD Civilian Police Merit Board.

On Friday, prosecutors charged Decker with for three counts of voyeurism, two counts of official misconduct, two counts of public voyeurism and one count of making an unlawful proposition related to claims of criminal activity at a Marion County massage parlor.

Online court records show a warrant has been issued for Decker’s arrest. He is the fifth IMPD officer to be charged with a sex crime this year.

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