I was appointed to the Police Academy in September of 1998 after serving the community for three and a half years as a police dispatcher.

In 2003 I was assigned to the Sex Crimes and Child Abuse Unit as a Detective. I handled a case involving an 11 year old little girl who was kidnapped from an east side park and raped. Fortunately when the medical exam was complete and the evidence was forwarded to the crime lab a DNA profile was established for the offender. Despite having a DNA profile there wasn't a match when submitted to CODIS. I spent many hours with this very articulate but naïve girl, reassuring her I would find the person who hurt her. She spent hours in the crime lab looking at mug shots for a match to the offender and I had a composite sketch of the offender drawn. This composite sketch was distributed and my fellow former 4th District officers assisted with follow up on every lead to no avail.

Several years passed but throughout the years I visited this little girl and watched her develop into a strong, smart and talented young lady. Spring of 2006 I received the good news that CODIS had a hit on a DNA match for the suspect's profile. Words can not express the excitement I felt and the urgent need to call this child's mother to tell her “We finally got him!”

It was my pleasure to see this case all the way through to the Grand Jury where the offender was indicted for Kidnapping, Rape, Gross Sexual Imposition and Intimidation. The most important call of my career was notifying her mother with this news.

I am so proud that the hard work of all parties involved, the first responding officers, EMS, the nurses and doctors at the hospital, the crime scene lab, as well as the courts for shaping this whole case into a masterpiece.

Although there are plenty of times that cases haven't gone as I had hoped or I didn't get the ‘bad guy', cases like these are the reasons that make it all worth while. They reinforce the reason I became a police officer; to help those who cannot help themselves.

Patrol Officer Margery Gerbec
Second District