A Philadelphia police inspector who was accused of sexually assaulting three women has been reinstated after charges were dropped in all three cases against him.
Carl Holmes Jr., 58, won his arbitration case against the Philadelphia Police Department last week and will be reinstated in a high-ranking role under Philadelphia Police Commissioner Kevin Bethel, per the arbitration judgment, NBC10 confirmed Friday.
"As part of this officer’s due process rights, his case was presented to an arbitrator where the City of Philadelphia and the Fraternal Order of Police presented their respective cases," Philadelphia Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 5 President Roosevelt Poplar wrote in a statement. "The arbitrator ruled in favor of the officer’s re-instatement."
Philadelphia police also confirmed with NBC10 on Friday that Holmes will return to his previous rank of Chief Inspector.
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In January of 2023, prosecutors dropped the last of three sexual assault cases against Holmes due to the lack of testimony from a key witness.
The judge was told during a brief hearing that efforts to locate the witness and persuade her to testify against Holmes had been unsuccessful, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported. Assistant District Attorney Clarke Beljean said that he couldn't put on a case without her testimony.
Holmes was charged in 2019 with sexual assault of three female officers after a grand jury probe concluded that he abused his power after mentoring female officers at the police academy and in other roles. The charges came two years after the city settled a female detective’s sexual harassment lawsuit involving him for $1.25 million.
Charges involving two of the women were withdrawn in early 2021.
Defense attorney Gregory Pagano argued that Holmes was innocent and had been the victim of what he likened to a “witch hunt.” He urged the judge to force prosecutors to put on their trial without the testimony, saying his client was "entitled to finality.” The judge declined to do so but expressed doubt that the case would move forward.
While in court last year, Holmes, who denied the allegations, showed little reaction to prosecutors' motion to withdraw the charges. He and his attorney declined to comment as they left the courtroom, the Inquirer reported at the time.
