A Travis County grand jury has indicted a sheriff’s deputy accused of using his patrol vehicle and badge to keep a woman from leaving a Cedar Park gas station before making unwanted sexual contact during a December encounter.
Dennis Francis Mallinger, a Travis County sheriff’s deputy, was indicted April 9 on three counts of official oppression, a Class A misdemeanor, the District Attorney's office announced Tuesday. The indictment accuses him of sexual harassment, unlawful detention and unlawful mistreatment while acting under color of his position as a deputy.
The case stems from a Dec. 26 encounter at the QuikTrip at 2821 W. Whitestone Blvd., where a woman identified in court records by the pseudonym Michelle Clayton had gone to show a car to a potential buyer, according to an arrest affidavit filed earlier in the case.
The indictment lays out the allegations in three parts. One count says Mallinger made unwelcome sexual advances and that submitting to the conduct was made, either explicitly or implicitly, a condition of Clayton’s ability to move freely. A second count accuses him of knowingly detaining her unlawfully. A third accuses him of unlawful mistreatment through nonconsensual touching involving her breast and genitals.
Clayton told investigators she felt unable to leave because Mallinger was in uniform, armed and had blocked her vehicle, according to the affidavit. Read the affidavit
In an interview with the American-Statesman, Clayton said the case has changed how she and her family react to law enforcement. Clayton has also written publicly about the case, saying the aftermath of reporting the allegation became its own burden. In the post, she described having to retell what happened, follow up on the case and wait for agencies to act.
The case moved to district court after the indictment, with records showing Mallinger is next scheduled for an attorney check-in Aug. 3. Steven Brand and Elizabeth Resendez are listed as his retained attorneys.