Former Parker Police Sergeant Receives Plea Deal for Unlawful Sexual Conduct in Explorer Program

Troy Brienzo was adviser to the two explorers, who were over 18 at the time

Former Parker Police Sergeant Troy Brienzo received a plea deal Monday with a deferred sentence for one count of unlawful sexual misconduct, a plea of guilty to one count of official misconduct, and all other charges dismissed according to court documents.

The charges come from 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.

The deferred sentence means that Brienzo pleaded guilty to the charge of unlawful sexual misconduct, but sentencing is delayed for up to four years and if he follows specific stipulations within that time — such as community service or not having another similar offense — the plea is withdrawn and the charge is dismissed. Those stipulations, as well as sentencing for his official misconduct conviction, will be determined in his sentencing hearing currently set for Oct. 6.

His conviction of official misconduct can be decertifying, according to state law — meaning he would not be able to work as a certified law enforcement officer in Colorado — but it is at the discretion of the Peace Officer Standards and Training Board, or POST, whether to suspend his certification or fully revoke it. Even still, there are many law enforcement positions across Colorado that do not require certification.

According to Brienzo’s indictment, on Jan. 3 he invited one of the female explorers he supervised to a nighttime ride-along, and picked her up at the Parker Police Station at about 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 continued 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, and she rejected them, she told investigators.

She said he then asked if she ever had a crush on him, which she said she did at 16 as an explorer, according to the affidavit. 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.”

The age of the other explorer was not made clear in the redacted affidavit.

The explorer explained to investigating officers that he asked for a photo of her naked — 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 at about 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, according to court documents. 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 parking lot and asked to perform oral sex on her, according to the court reports. She refused. He then spoke on how “hot” it would be if she came to his hotel room during the next explorer competition, she told investigators. 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.”

The night ended at almost midnight with Brienzo driving the explorer back to her car in the Parker police department parking lot.

The next day, the affidavit states, the explorer told a friend and fellow explorer about the evening along with an officer. A few days later, Parker police Commander Jacob Schuster told Brienzo he was being put on administrative leave for sexual allegations against him.

At a later date, unclear in the court documents, Brienzo began asking questions of other officials linked to his defense.

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 allegedly 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.