On Wednesday, a Kansas police department announced it had arrested a sexual predator behind a truly shocking years-long crime wave. The suspect, Hutchinson Police Chief Jeff Hooper said, was a former patrol officer with his department.
Todd Allen, 51, was with the agency for over 20 years until his resignation in 2018. While still an officer, authorities allege, Allen was responsible for a disturbing series of crimes. He has now been charged with two dozen offenses including five counts of rape, two counts of kidnapping, nine counts of aggravated sexual battery, and one count of indecent liberties with a child, court documents state. Allen has also been accused of two counts of sexual battery and five counts of breach of privacy and eavesdropping. His bond has been set at $6 million.
The huge list of charges relate to an alleged spree of sexual assaults which took place in Hutchinson city parks between October 2012 and November 2018, along with a string of prowler reports from May 2019 through June 2022.
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At a news conference Wednesday, Hooper called Allen a “predator,” adding that his department cleared 17 of the cases it was investigating with Allen’s arrest. Hooper also said it was possible that there could be more victims, whom he urged to come forward.
“I am appalled and disgusted that somebody who is a suspect in these types of crimes and this type of behavior ever wore the uniform and this badge that I am honored to pin on my chest every day,” Hooper said, according to KWCH12.
Hooper added that around three weeks after he joined the Hutchinson police in 2018, a sexual assault took place in one of the city’s parks. Investigators linked the assault to a series of other crimes committed in the same area since 2012. Because the department had never commented publicly on the assaults, Hooper called a news conference in November 2018 to warn residents “to potential dangers and precautions they could take.”
After raising the alarm, the sexual assaults suddenly stopped and Allen resigned from the force soon after.
In the last month, authorities started receiving calls about window peeping and prowling. Allen was arrested in connection with one of these complaints, and detectives then put him in the frame for the sex assaults between 2012 and 2018.
“I am proud of this administration and all the men and women who diligently worked on these cases over the last decade and who today brought Mr. Allen to justice,” Hooper added.
