EVERETT — A former Edmonds police officer convicted of custodial sexual misconduct was led off in handcuffs Monday after a judge sentenced him to a year in jail.
Snohomish County Superior Court judge Janice Ellis was unwilling to let Daniel Lavely remain free pending the appeal of his conviction. Instead, Ellis rebuked Lavely for his actions.
“Your conduct exploited a vulnerable woman and disgraced your profession,” the judge said.
The former cop’s actions make it more difficult for honest police officers to do their job. It also nurtures cynicism, the judge said. Lavely’s abuse of his position was reason enough to sentence him to the maximum allowed by the law, Ellis said.
Lavely, 48, declined to speak at Monday’s hearing.
He will be required to register as a sex offender for the next decade. He also will be under the supervision of the state Department of Corrections for a year once he’s released from jail.
A jury in August convicted Lavely, believing that he had engaged in sex with a woman in his custody. It is against the law for a police officer to have sex with somebody they are detaining, even if the contact is consensual.
Lavely denied having sex with the woman. He admitted on the stand that he had lied about his dealings with the woman, saying he had simply forgotten to call into dispatchers when he picked the woman up and where he dropped her off.
Prosecutors alleged that Lavely lied to cover up his crimes.
Everett police detectives investigated the allegations and discovered that Lavely had falsified the record about when he took the woman from the motel and when he dropped her off.
Video footage showed the woman inside a convenience store at the time Lavely told a dispatcher he dropped her off at the bus stop. He testified that he had simply forgotten to let dispatchers know when he picked up the woman from the motel. He said he lied because he was worried his mistake would cost him a possible promotion.
The former military police officer resigned from the Edmonds Police Department in January after his bosses completed an internal investigation into the May 7, 2012, incident.
Diana Hefley: 425-339-3463; hefley@heraldnet.com.
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