Former Lima probation officer Dexter Thompson testifies Thursday during his jury trial for inappropriate sexual conduct with probationers.
Charlotte Caldwell | The Lima News
LIMA — Allen County Common Pleas Court jurors heard from Lima Municipal Court Administrator Lisa Deters, Lima Police Det. Sgt. Jason Garlock and Dexter Thompson during the third day of Thompson’s jury trial Thursday over allegations of improper sexual conduct between him and probationers during his tenure as a Lima Municipal Court probation officer.
Garlock discussed the steps he took to investigate this case. He spoke with 28 of Thompson’s female probationers, searched his office and computer, and attempted to get video footage from the victim’s apartment that Thompson visited. No evidence was found in Thompson’s office and no video footage was saved because Garlock had asked for the footage months after the incident but it was already deleted.
Thompson testified he was diagnosed with testicular cancer in 2018 and had surgery to remove one of his testicles. Two of his brothers also died from cancer. Because of this and marital issues, he said his self-esteem was low when he started as a probation officer and sometimes he did not want to go to work.
Thompson saw seven to 10 probationers per day and his office was directly at the end of a hallway where people congregated while waiting for court matters and probation appointments, he said. He also said people were always peeking their heads into his doorway, especially his probationers when they arrived for their appointments and wanted to let him know they were waiting in the hallway.
He said some probationers made inappropriate statements to him and he didn’t tell his bosses about it because he didn’t want his bosses to see it as a weakness in him or that he couldn’t handle the job. One example he gave was the third alleged victim calling him and telling him she was masturbating.
Thompson addressed going to one victim’s apartment after hours and on a weekend and said he wanted to address her flirting with him and the rumors that she was selling prescription drugs. He said he tried to talk to the victim in the lobby of the apartment but the victim had him come into her apartment so no one else overheard their conversation. He said he was only there for three or four minutes.
While Thompson’s former boss testified the day before that probation officers usually don’t do home visits, Thompson said the department “preferred us to not go to home visits but were not against it.”
For the victim Thompson had three months of conversation on Facebook with, he said they bonded over cancer because the victim had a previous cancer scare. After talking about their experiences with cancer he said she hugged him and then they kissed. He denied the part where the victim testified about touching his penis.
Regarding the conduct between Thompson and this victim, “I definitely admit I dropped the ball,” he said, and that he treated the victim as a friend more than a client. He admitted he was flirtatious but might not have pursued a relationship with the victim because he was trying to make amends with his wife. He did not think his messages to the victim were sexual, but he did admit the comment, “If you allowed me to be on top of you I wouldn’t want to get off of you,” was sexual.
“She was giving me attention and I guess I was attention-seeking,” he said.
Closing statements and jury deliberation will occur on Friday.
Reach Charlotte Caldwell at 567-242-0451.
