CRIME

Monroe District Attorney, PMRPD police chief reflect on sentencing of former Pocono cop

Pocono Record

Editor’s note: This article contains descriptions of sexual assault. The complainant’s name has been withheld to protect her identity.

A former Pocono Mountain Regional Police corporal will face up to five years of prison time after being charged on counts of bribery and obstruction of justice in a controversial case concerning alleged sexual assault.

Steven Mertz, a former corporal and third-generation law enforcement officer, was sentenced to 30 to 60 months in state prison, followed by two years probation and an order of no contact with the victim.

Mertz had been accused of 11 counts, including several related to sexual assault, for having sex with a 26-year-old woman after pulling her over for drunk driving in Oct. 2019.

First Assistant District Attorney Michael Mancuso applauded the unified front that helped to convict Mertz, in particular highlighting PMRPD's dedication to cooperation.

"I think that's very important, because you can't paint with a broad brush for police officers, and when when you have a dirty cop in your midst, and he's he's found out, then you have to take steps and get in front of it and deal with it the right way. I commend Pocono Mountain Regional Police for doing that as well," Mancuso said.

PMRPD Chief Chris Wagner said that in 28 years, he has not made a statement at a sentencing— while he does note that the court will, on occasion, ask police for commentary, he feels it is primarily a time for victims to speak their voices— he felt this situation was different.

"I felt in this case, though, in particular, when a police officer is the one who was convicted by jury, the effects of that move in not just through the victim, but move in through all of society, move in through all of law enforcement, the criminal justice system," Wagner said. "The impact is so far reaching that I felt that I was compelled at that point to to make a statement to the court."

Mancuso noted that the judge had to go outside of traditional guidelines in his sentencing of Mertz, supporting his decision by highlighting the impacts of the former corporal's conduct upon both the victim and his fellow law enforcement officers.

"I kept giving them example after example, in the text messages and his interview with the police department, when he got wind of what had happened. He was saying, basically, 'Well, I was on my lunch break, and it was consensual,' and that kind of stuff. He had no regard for what he had actually done. And the judge used that, I think, as a reason for the sentence," Mancuso said.

In addition, the first assistant district attorney called attention to a statement given to Lieutenant Steve Williams shortly after Mertz was arrested, in which another young woman in Mertz's custody had allegedly been propositioned by the former corporal.

"It was her first offense, he had driven her home, and started to suggest that there could be something she could do to make it all go away. She ignored them, eventually got onto the (Accelerated Rehabilitative Disposition) program as a (first-time) offender. But she came forward when she found out about how similar the phrases were, the scenario was, in her case, as what happened to our victim. So I also presented that as part of the sentencing to show this wasn't a 'once and done,' this was part of the pattern," Mancuso said.

Guest opinion:We need to do better by victims and survivors of sexual assault in Monroe County | My Turn

The first assistant district attorney also noted that "our state legislature closed a loophole in the law by adding police officers to what we call 'institutional sexual assault,' and finding that such contact as a police traffic stop, placing someone in custody, and also that consent was not a defense to sex occurring under those circumstances."

Although the initiative was taken after Mertz's actions in Oct. 2019, leaving prosecutors unable to charge on those counts, Mancuso said that closing this loophole will prevent further such incidents.

"You're not going to be able to play games and talk about consent, that's taken away as a defense. So it's almost like it's a zero tolerance on that kind of that kind of behavior, and that is a good thing. Hopefully, it'll be a disincentive," Mancuso said.

Following the sentencing, Mancuso offered his thanks to Assistant District Attorney Michael T. Rakaczewski, who originally handled the case for the office but was forced to take time off due to COVID— "he did a great job getting it ready for trial"— and Detective Wendy Serfass, who "has shown once again a continued, tireless dedication to the cause of justice."

Mancuso added that Mertz will also face seven counts of perjury due to inconsistencies between his trial testimony and a recorded police interview. The first assistant district attorney emphasized Mertz is assumed innocent until proven guilty.