IUPD employee expected in court

IU Police Department dispatcher and Monroe County Sheriff reserve officer Eric Mayo is expected in court Jan. 6 after police say he paid a 19-year-old $5 and a pack of cigarettes to perform oral sex.

Mayo is facing a charge of patronizing a prostitute, a Class A misdemeanor. Monroe County prosecutors summoned Mayo to appear in court, but police never arrested him.

Police say the woman met with Mayo in July after he advertised himself online as a model photographer wanting to take photos of her. He picked the woman up in his car, where the incident occurred.

Police started investigating Mayo because the 19-year-old woman reported him after hearing about a similar incident that occurred on Nov. 3 where a 14-year-old female reported she was picked up in a car and raped by a man who claimed to be a photographer.

The 19-year-old woman called BPD because of similarities between the rape suspect and Mayo, said Bloomington Police Department Lt. David Drake. Police believe the two incidents are unrelated.

On Nov. 6, BPD had arranged for the woman to text Mayo to set up a time to meet. A former IUPD officer, wearing a big coat, took the role of the woman in an attempt to meet with Mayo. Police say that when Mayo approached her in his vehicle, he drove away.

Drake said he is unsure if Mayo recognized the former IUPD officer or if he realized a different female was present. Drake did say that the officer recognized Mayo when he pulled up in his vehicle. BPD pulled Mayo over shortly after.

“Mayo has always been a good reserve officer – we never had any problems with him,” said Monroe County Sheriff’s Office Chief Deputy Mike Pershing.

Mayo has been suspended from Monroe County Sheriff’s Office throughout the investigation.