CHESAPEAKE, Va. — A former Chesapeake Police lieutenant accused of raping and abducting a woman more than two years ago had his charges dropped in court on Friday.
Former Lt. Sean Maddox lost his job as a police officer and was decertified from policing in Virginia due to the accusations.
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In May of 2021, Maddox was accused of abducting, raping, sodomy, and sending threatening text messages to a woman he was allegedly having an affair with but those charges have been dropped.
"The Commonwealth Attorney made it very clear that there was no intention for these charges ever to go forward so the criminal case is concluded today," Taite Westendorf, Maddox's attorney said.
During a quick hearing on Friday, five of the seven charges were nolle prosequi.
This means the charges would be dropped but could come back up in the future.
Two other charges were also dismissed.
The request was made after an expert, hired by Maddox, found text messages between the woman who made the complaint and Maddox were deleted and manipulated.
"She had deleted over 1,000 text messages between herself and Mr. Maddox," Westendorf said. "Those deletions were not only massive but selective. "
The prosecutor said in court that the woman who made the complaint was no longer a credible witness and could they not put her on the stand.
"The prosecutor acknowledged in court that the complaining witness, in this case, perjured herself over and over," Westendorf said. "Her own words were unadjudicated perjury meaning perjury that she has not been prosecuted for. There should be accountability in this case. Her lies and manipulations have led to this man's good name and reputation to be dragged through the mud."
Maddox's attorney wanted all the charges dismissed after the prosecutor said they would not look to pursue the charges in the future.
His attorney also argued, Maddox's family's reputation had been ruined by this case and he is entitled to have these charges dismissed.
In the end, the judge dismissed two of the charges.
"He should be entitled to having the community know he committed no crime," Westendorf said. "He is innocent, this was a witch hunt from the beginning, everybody should view him as an innocent man and he should be able to go on with his life."
There are still several pending civil matters regarding Maddox, the woman who made the complaint, and the Chesapeake Police Department.
