Three US police officers 'sexually abused' teen girl for years until her suicide

Three former Stoughton Police Department officers have been accused of having "inappropriate relationships" with a young woman who died by suicide last year.

The case came to light after 23-year-old Sandra Birchmore's death last year at her house in Stoughton town, Massachusetts, USA. According to a police internal affairs report, she was pregnant with the child of one of the officers, Matthew G. Farwell.

Farwell, 36, met Birchmore when she was only 13 through the department's youth explorers' program. The report gave a detailed account of Birchmore's relationships with Farwell, his twin brother, William Farwell, and their former supervisor, Robert Devine.

It reveals how Farwell, his twin brother, and Devine all violated rules and regulations through their conduct with Birchmore.

Matthew began having sex with the girl when she was just 15. If the charges are proven, these actions would amount to statutory rape since the age of consent under Massachusetts law is 16.

According to the Boston Globe, Birchmore committed suicide while pregnant with what she believed was Matthew's child.

In an interview with investigators, Matthew revealed that he had gone to see Birchmore prior to her death with the intention of ending the relationship.

"All three men, the Farwell brothers, and Devine, violated their oaths of office and should never have the privilege of serving any community as a police officer," said Police chief Donna McNamarra.

"The evidence suggests that William Farwell also, at the very least, attempted to introduce Miss Birchmore to other men," she added. She revealed that two other men, another officer and a military recruiter, were also involved in "inappropriate relations" with Birchmore.

She added that she plans to ask the Massachusetts Peace Officer Standards and Training Commission to decertify the officers. The move will make them ineligible for employment at law enforcement agencies in the state.

Birchmore's death is still being investigated by the Norfolk County District Attorney's Office. Matthew Farwell, William Farwell, and Devine have since resigned from the department.