XPost: austin.politics, alt.government.employees, alt.atheism
XPost: sac.politics, alt.war.civil.usa

An Austin Water employee is on leave after he was arrested for rape and robbery while on-duty Friday, according to court documents.

Around 8 a.m. on Friday, June 3 Austin Police responded to an urgent call on Cedargrove Drive in Southeast Austin. According to the caller, an injured woman was lying on the sidewalk, bleeding and appeared to have a broken hip. The woman was shouting and
said she had been sexually assaulted and dragged by a car.

After the victim was taken away by EMS, a witness flagged down the officer to report they "had seen a large white truck that said, 'Water,' on the side of it pass by the victim as she was walking by a park in the area. The truck turned around and drove
passed the victim and stopped. A male exited the vehicle and assaulted the victim," an arrest affidavit states. The witness told police they did see the victim being dragged by the truck.

After reviewing surveillance video from homes in the neighborhood the investigating officer found the marked truck appeared to belong to the City of Austin Water Department. During his investigation, the officer said he was approached by Austin Water
employee Corie Darian Cornist, Jr., 31, who asked if something bad had happened in the area. The officer, "could tell that Corie knew something about the incident and he asked him what he knew. Corie eventually admitted to being involved," court records
state.

According to Cornist, he picked the victim up off Pleasant Valley Road and drove her to the park. He told officers the victim was acting strangely and while trying to get her to exit the truck she ended up being dragged by the vehicle.

According to the victim, she was walking near the Walmart at SH 71 and I-35 when Cornist pulled up and offered her a ride. The victim said once in the truck Cornist offered her money in exchange for oral sex and when she declined, he became angry. The
victim told police Cornist pulled over on Cedargrove Drive and dragged her into an area "behind the cab of the truck," where he raped her. The victim said she was eventually able to get away but while struggling with Cornist over a cell phone he had
taken from her, Cornist rolled up the window on the victim's hands and proceeded to drive off, dragging the victim who was then reportedly run over by the vehicle.

Police say records from Austin Water confirmed Cornist was on-duty when the assault happened and despite being assigned to work in Southwest Austin, GPS on the city-issued truck showed he was in the area of the sexual assault when it occurred.
Additionally, records showed Cornist drove to Austin Water's East Austin station right after the incident but failed to clock out of work and left without notifying his supervisor.

https://cbsaustin.com/resources/media/165fe9d1-87e6-4789-b024-7b3fd1118a1a-medium16x9_CorieCornistJr1.jpg?1654541189108
Booking photo of Corie Cornist Jr. (Courtesy: Austin Police Department)

Austin Police say Cornist declined to provide a statement to the Special Investigations Unit.

In a statement Austin Water tells CBS Austin:

Austin Water is aware of the criminal investigation regarding Corie D. Cornist, who was taken into police custody on Friday. Mr. Cornist was placed on leave immediately. As a fair chance employer, the City will take the appropriate steps pending the
outcome of the investigation.

https://cbsaustin.com/news/local/austin-water-employee-arrested-for-rape-robbery-in-city-truck

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)