Guy J. Turcotte
BY MELINDA J. OVERSTREET
GLASGOW NEWS 1
Barren Family Court Judge Mica Pence issued on Friday an interpersonal protective order against Guy Turcotte, a Glasgow Police Department detective, barring him “from committing further acts of abuse or threats of abuse, stalking or sexual assault;” from any unauthorized contact with the person who requested the IPO; from additional terms set forth, including being within 500 feet from the petitioner, including her home and her workplace, except under specified circumstances, such as in the courthouse.
The IPO is in effect for one year.
Turcotte has been on administrative leave with pay since Jan. 28, pending the results of an investigation into the matter.
An adult female Barren County resident petitioned the court Jan. 30 for an interpersonal protective order to be issued to keep Turcotte away from her, as she has accused him of placing his hand in an inappropriate place on her body – upper thigh/groin area – and pulling her toward him while he was a customer at her place of employment. A hearing took place Feb. 8 in family court, a division of circuit court, to determine whether an IPO should be issued, and Pence said she would take the matter into consideration before making a decision. She instructed Turcotte to not make contact with the petitioner in the meantime.
Pence attached a 13-page document to the IPO, summarizing the testimony and evidence and discussing the legal requirements for determining whether an IPO is warranted.
“[Turcotte], upon cross-examination by the Petitioner, agreed that he at no point asked for permission to touch her. He testified that he is just naturally a ‘touchy feely’ person, and that people have asked him in the past not to touch them or not to hug them, but that the Petitioner did not do either of those. It is clear [Turcotte] presumes he can hug anyone, even if his familiarity with such person is based only upon a brief professional encounter, and [Turcotte] places the burden upon any recipient to stop him, as opposed to seeking permission, even if the subject recipient is a professional actively engaged in his/her course of employment,” Pence wrote.
The judge the summarizes indications that the petitioner was genuinely afraid of Turcotte, and states that even if he is just as “touchy feely” as he describes, with no “sexual motivation,” she is “not convinced that he would even be able to recognize or accurately recount if he acted inappropriate towards Petitioner and/or violated her privacy. According, based on the totality of circumstances, the Court ultimately believes the Petitioner’s testimony to be factual.”
The final paragraph of attached document states:
“Based on the foregoing, the Court HEREBY FINDS that the Petitioner has demonstrated that sexual assault has occurred and may occur again, and is thus entitled to entry of an IPO against the Respondent for a period of 1 year.”
CORRECTION: Due to a smudge on a copy of the IPO, an earlier version of this report listed an additional requirement of the IPO, relating to weapons, that should not have been included.
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