Former Parker Police Sergeant Indicted on Unlawful Sexual Misconduct in Explorer Program
Troy Brienzo was adviser to the two explorers, who were over 18 at the time.
Former Sergeant Troy Brienzo, 31, of Parker Police Department was indicted April 3 on charges of unlawful sexual conduct and official misconduct.
The charges come from alleged behavior toward two adult participants in Parker’s Explorer Program during ride-alongs.
Brienzo acted as adviser to the program, which consists of youths 14 to 20 and includes learning case law, defensive tactics, attending competitions and ride-alongs with officers.
On Jan. 3, according to the indictment, Brienzo invited one of the explorers he was currently supervising to a nighttime ride-along, and picked her up at the Parker Police Station around 8 p.m. During this ride along, the affidavit states that Brienzo spoke to the explorer about his sexual fantasies of having sex in the back of his patrol car, asking her if, “hypothetically,” asking her to do so would ruin their relationship.
"How fire would it be if I were to have a rider and I could just reach my hand over and start touching them," he asked her, according to the affidavit. The explorer told investigating officers that she felt uncomfortable at this point, but he went on talking about other sexual hypotheticals and fantasies, asking her about her sexual fantasies and preferred age range, even as she tried to steer the conversation to different topics.
According to the affidavit, he eventually said none of his questions were hypotheticals. She said no to them. The affidavit continued that he then asked if she ever had a crush on him, which she said she did at 16 as an explorer. Brienzo responded that he thought she was attractive at 16, and that he found another explorer’s “butt” attractive, but that he “knew his attraction to her was wrong.” It’s unclear the age of the other explorer at the time.
The explorer explained to investigating officers that he asked for a naked photo of her — which she refused — and described more fantasies such as a sexual pat-down even as she tried to steer the conversation away again, and continued to persist about a “more touchy” search of her.
The affidavit stated that the explorer “told him if that was going to be enough for him, then she would agree to it.”
They arrived back at the Parker Police Station around 11 p.m. where Brienzo told her they needed to have a story as to why they would be in the “equipment area” alone together. In that area, Brienzo took off his body camera and began a “pat-down,” groping the explorer under her shirt and above her pants. Afterward, he said she could not tell anyone as it could ruin his career and “look really bad” for her.
He then drove her to an empty lot and asked to perform oral sex on her. She refused. He then spoke on how “hot” it would be if she came to his hotel room during the next explorer competition. The explorer told the interviewing officer that this “freaked her out” because she felt there was nothing she could do as he was a “sergeant and she was not.”
According to the affidavit, Parker PD Commander Jacob Schuster told Brienzo he was being put on administrative leave for sexual allegations against him on Jan. 7.
The affidavit stated that Brienzo called a friend at the Colorado Bureau of Investigation asking for advice, explaining the situation as him showing her a pat-down for weapons, asking if he could check down her bra, and her agreeing. He called it “wanted contact by the explorer and agreed upon between two adults.”
The affidavit describes another explorer that Brienzo had sex with in his patrol car in a high school parking lot, but it is unclear the age of the explorer and when it occurred.
Brienzo resigned while under investigation on Feb. 13. His next court date is scheduled for April 13.
