Frisco City police chief Ronald Marshall arrested on rape, ethics charges

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FRISCO CITY, Alabama -- Frisco City Police Chief Ronald Marshall remained in the Monroe County Jail early today charged with felony rape and an ethics charge after a 38-year-old woman claimed he assaulted her when she tried to report a computer theft, officials said.

A judge set Marshall’s bail at $105,000 on Friday morning, according to Monroe County District Attorney Tommy Chapman.

Chapman said the woman, whose identity was withheld due to the nature of the alleged crime, went to the sheriff’s office Thursday and reported that Marshall, 39, assaulted her in his police vehicle while he was on duty the day before.

According to investigators, the woman said she went to the police station Wednesday to report the theft of her computer, and the chief told her to accompany him to another location as part of the investigation. He instead drove her to a secluded road south of town and forcibly raped her in his police cruiser, she told authorities.

Officers arrested Marshall on Thursday, charging him with an ethics violation and after further investigation added the rape charge early Friday. Chapman said the officer’s car had been impounded and transported to the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences for examination.

Attempts to contact Mayor Sue Starr were unsuccessful Friday.

Marshall has other legal challenges. Court records show a loan company sued Marshall on Monday over a $500 debt, and a paternity case filed against him in January by a 22-year-old woman is still pending.

His arrest comes a week after a former part-time officer in the neighboring town of Excel was indicted on a felony sex abuse charge for allegedly forcing a woman to engage in sexual activity while he was on duty, records show. Former officer Billy A. "T.J." Hilton Jr. was released last week on $50,000 bail.

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