PHOTO LEFT: Lauderhill Police Officer Franklin Hartley is accused of having sex with the passenger of a car while threatening to arrest the vehicle's drunk driver in 2012. He is also accused of getting the driver to punch fellow Officer Thomas Merenda in the genitals.
PHOTO RIGHT: Lauderhill Police Officer Thomas Merenda is one of two officers held on charges that include unlawful compensation, a felony punishable by up to 15 years in prison, officials say.
Two South Florida cops turned themselves in Thursday night for allegedly coercing two drunken women to perform sexual acts during a kinky traffic stop last year.
Officers Franklin Hartley, 33, and Thomas Merenda, 35, were charged with simple battery and unlawful compensation. If convicted, they could face up to 15 years in prison.
Back on May 24, 2012, Harley pulled over the women, ages 29 and 31, after a night of drinking at the Vegas Cabaret strip club in Broward County, the Sun Sentinel reported.
Harley told the women to trail him in their vehicle as he drove to an isolated location, according to the arrest report.
Merenda met with Harley and the women at the location. Both officers allegedly started making sexual demands on the intoxicating women, under the threat of arrest.
"Officer Merenda asked the victim to punch him in the 'nuts,' meaning genital area," the report reads.
Hartley forced the other woman to perform oral sex on him before having sex with her, the report said.
Lauderhill Police Chief Andrew Smalling issued a statement distancing his department from the officers' alleged behavior, according to the Sun Sentinel.
"I and the men and women of the Lauderhill Police department are truly disappointed with the nature of the allegations made against these two officers and if they are proven to be true, the consequences should be severe," Smalling said.
Both officers are married and have two children each. Hartley has been a cop for 11 years. Merenda has been one for five.
The victims have not yet decided whether to file a civil suit, their attorney said.
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