A former Billerica police officer who's been accused of having a sexual relationship with a teenager and asking her for a sexually explicit image has been suspended by Massachusetts' POST Commission.
The Peace Officer Standards and Training Commission found sufficient evidence to suspend the police certification of Alexander Allen, who resigned from the Billerica Police Department in December, in Massachusetts.
Under the suspension, Allen, 35, is required to surrender anything that's part of law enforcement work, such as his police-issued weapon, uniform and badge. It wasn't immediately clear if he had any such credentials or equipment, since his resignation soon after the allegations against him came to light and were being investigated.
Allen's suspension was dated Tuesday, a day before prosecutors announced that Allen had been indicted on child rape and child pornography charges. He has a right to an appeal hearing on the suspension ruling.
Read the suspension here:
The Middlesex District Attorney's Office has said that the charges stem from a sexual relationship Allen had with a 15-year-old girl while he was working as a Billerica police officer in 2023.
Allen allegedly told another officer that he had an intimate relationship with the teen; that prompted the Middlesex District Attorney's Office and Billerica police to begin an investigation, officials said.
Resources for victims of sexual assault are available through the National Sexual Violence Resources Center and the National Sexual Assault Telephone Hotline at 800-656-4673, and Massachusetts provides this list of statewide and resources for sexual assault survivors.
Investigators found that Allen first met the teen when she was 14. In March 2021, two months before her 16th birthday, he picked her up from an appointment, brought her home and had sex with her, prosecutors say. He also allegedly asked her for a naked photo, which she sent.
Billerica police said they first learned of the allegations against Allen on Dec. 3, 2023, and immediately launched an internal affairs investigation. He was placed on leave on Dec. 5 and resigned on Dec. 18, 2023. He had worked for the department since 2018.
"Upon learning of the allegations, we followed our established policies and procedures, which included launching an internal affairs investigation and notifying our district attorney. There is no room in the Billerica Police Department for the abhorrent behavior alleged in this case," Chief Roy Frost wrote in a statement.
Frost said that Allen was indicted on Oct. 3, and that he'd requested that the POST Commission temporarily decertify Allen due to the charges against him.
A second officer, who was not named, has been placed on administrative leave as of Tuesday over an investigation into possible violations of departmental policy related to Allen's case, Frost said. He didn't share more details on what the officer is accused of.
Allen is scheduled to be arraigned in Middlesex Superior Court on Oct. 25. It wasn't immediately clear if he had an attorney who could speak to the charges.
