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Thursday, March 28, 2024

GPD: officers had sex with prostitutes on duty

Internal investigations by the Gainesville Police, announced Thursday, have shown that two former officers were having sex with prostitutes while on duty.

The investigation, which began after accusations were made against Cpl. William Billings, who resigned in August, also incriminated officer Dave Reveille, who was fired Wednesday.

The investigation was based on a tip from a former prostitute, said Capt. Lynne Benck, who led the investigation.

"On June 4, a woman in jail called Internal Affairs asking us if we were trying to clear out bad cops," Benck said at a press conference Thursday. "She told us that she knew Cpl. Billings was one of them."

A GPD Internal Affairs report stated that 14 women said they had sex with Billings for money while he was in uniform and driving a marked GPD car. Two of the 14 women said they were 13 and 14 years old when they first had sex with Billings for money, the report stated.

After a GPS tracking device was placed on Billings' car, the investigation also found that he was not reporting to overtime assignments he was being paid for. That pay added up to more than $6,000, Benck said.

During Billings' investigation, detectives received a tip that Reveille was also having sex with prostitutes while on duty, he said.

One witness reported that Reveille had taken her into custody in his car and told her she would go to jail if she didn't perform oral sex on him, the report stated.

She also said Reveille had sex with her while she stood over the back of his GPD patrol car, the report stated.

Benck said similar reports against Reveille had been dropped during an investigation in 2005.

The State Attorney's Office will review the cases before charges are made, GPD spokesman Keith Kameg said.

"The charges can range anywhere from grand theft, to prostitute issues, to sexual battery," Kameg said.

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Benck said at Thursday's press conference that she wanted to take on the investigation because she didn't believe the accusation against Billings could be true. After meeting Billings in police academy more than 21 years ago, she said she considered herself friends with both him and his wife.

"I wanted to vindicate him," she said. "I wanted to prove it wasn't him."

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