SWAIN COUNTY, N.C. (WSPA) — Swain County Sheriff Curtis Cochran was arrested Friday for multiple charges, including sexual battery.
According to the district attorney’s office, Cochran was arrested by agents with the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation (SBI) and officers with the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians for charges of felonious restraint, assault on a female, sexual battery and solicitation to commit prostitution.
The 72-year-old has also been charged with violating the Cherokee Code, including two counts of oppression in office and one count of abusive sexual contact.
Cochran has been sheriff since December 2006; he was last sworn in December 2022.
District Attorney Ashley Hornsby Welch requested an immediate suspension of Cochran from his role as sheriff, and requested the judge permanently remove Cochran as well as a permanent disqualification of him from the sheriff’s office.
What happened?
Court documents detail what led up to the sheriff’s arrest. On June 22, a woman filed a report with the Cherokee Indian Police Department (CIPD), alleging that Cochran had assaulted her on the Qualla Boundary.
An investigation was then initiated by the CIPD, SBI and FBI.
After flagging down a Dodge Durango driven by Cochran, the woman told officials that Cochran touched her and asked her for oral sex repeatedly, attempted to solicit sex for money, rubbed his crotch, began to masturbate while she was in the car with him and asked her if she could keep a secret.
Documents report that Cochran allegedly told the woman that all she would have to do is say his name if she got into trouble and that he would help her.
As the investigation into the alleged assault continued on June 23, CIPD Assistant Chief Josh Taylor saw a car matching the description of Cochran’s vehicle on the Boundary.
Officials said Cochran’s car was “driving suspiciously” near the Cherokee Indian Police Department building.
Taylor continued to follow the car and stopped Cochran in a nearby driveway.
Inside the car, Taylor found a woman who had just been released from the CIPD jail. Documents reported that the woman appeared upset.
Cochran told Taylor that the woman had called him from jail to give her a ride home. Taylor continued to follow Cochran’s car to a nearby travel center where the woman left the car.
Taylor spoke with the woman at the center, who said she was scared of that “sick, perverted old man.” She told police that Cochran had “touched her all over” and tried to get her to do things she did not want to do. The woman told officers that she was offered a ride while she was walking on the side of the road after being released from jail.
What’s next?
Cochran was suspended as sheriff by Superior Court Judge Tessa Sellers.
A hearing has been set in Graham County for July 7 to review Cochran’s suspension, with the final determination of Cochran’s removal set for July 21 in Swain County.
The Swain County Sheriff’s Office said Chief Deputy Brian Kirkland will perform all duties of the sheriff during the suspension period, “until the statutory process of filling the vacancy is completed.”
“Please feel secure that there will be no disruption in the services provided by the Swain County Sheriff’s Office as a result of this situation,” a statement from the sheriff’s office reads. “The men and women of the Swain County Sheriff’s Office remain committed to serving and protecting the citizens and residents of Swain County.”
The official court order from Hornsby regarding the requested removal of Cochran can be read below:
Source: Fox 8 News Channel
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