Plea denied in misconduct case against former police officer
The State Law Enforcement Division charged an Atlantic Beach officer with misconduct in office in October after a woman accused him of sexual assault inside the town’s police department.
Tuesday, the 15th Circuit Solicitor’s Office offered Wiggins a plea and Wiggins accepted it, but circuit court judge Michael Baxley refused to accept the plea.
Prosecutors offered Wiggins a fine and probation in exchange for the plea, but the judge wouldn’t accept the deal, according to assistant solicitor, Scott Graustien.
Graustien said he didn’t know the judge’s reasons why he refused the plea, but Graustein said whether or not to accept a plea is up to the presiding judge.
News13 contacted judge Baxley’s law clerk at the Horry County Government and Justice building Wednesday, but Baxley declined to comment on the matter.
Agents charged Terrance Wiggins after a known-prostitute reported the crimes to North Myrtle Beach police last fall, according to a report filed in the city of North Myrtle Beach.
The woman, Joanne Frances Sivak, told NMB officers about the alleged assault after NMB officers were questioning her about failing to pay for a hotel room at the Super 8 in North Myrtle Beach.
Sivak told officers that Wiggins stopped her while she was walking down the street in Atlantic Beach on October 6, 2007 and wanted to question her about a recent burglary/robbery in the town.
Sivak told investigators that Wiggins searched her and found a crack rock in her pants pocket, then arrested her and took her to the Atlantic Beach police department for questioning.
Once inside, the woman told officers she wrote a voluntary statement about two recent larceny cases.
Atlantic Beach police chief, Randy Rizzo, told News13 he charged Sivak with prostitution in August 2007 and said she was a suspect in at least two larceny cases in the town, but was never charged.
Sivak told investigators that when she finished the statements, Wiggins asked her, “What would she like to do about the crack rock” he found on her.
Sivak reported that Wiggins told her, “She could go to jail, or they could settle it amongst themselves,” according to the report.
Sivak said she questioned Wiggins about his intentions and told officers that Wiggins pulled a condom out of his pocket and told her that they could have sex, according to the report.
The woman told officers that she asked Wiggins to “please not do this” because she reported that she was trying to turn her life around.
The report states that Wiggins and Sivak had sex on the floor, then Wiggins gave her the crack rock back and told her to leave the beach for the night.
Wiggins’ arrest warrant states that the two had consensual sex and that Wiggins confessed the acts through a statement to investigators.
The warrant said that Wiggins and Sivak agreed to the sex in exchange for leniency concerning the possession of drugs Wiggins found on Sivak.
SLED agents arrested Wiggins on Oct. 11, 2007 and charged him with misconduct in office.
A county magistrate set Wiggins’ bond at $5,000 following his arrest.
No word yet on a future court date for Wiggins.
Cop to ‘60 Minutes’: We lied on reports, stole money from suspects »