Warning: this article contains graphic descriptions of sexual activity.

A former Parker Police Department sergeant arrested on sexual misconduct charges last week allegedly groped a female member of a youth program he was once in himself, according to court documents.

During a one-on-one ride-along in early January, Sgt. Troy Brienzo, 31, a mentor of the woman through the department’s Explorers program, allegedly grabbed her breasts and made her touch his erect penis while also trying to convince her to engage in oral sex, according to a grand jury indictment signed by the 23rd Judicial District Attorney.

Brienzo also attempted to claim that the encounter was consensual and that the contact was wanted and agreed upon, according to the indictment. The names and ages of all alleged victims are redacted in the documents.

The Parker Police Department Explorers Program is a job-shadowing program designed for 14-20-year-olds with an interest in law enforcement, according to the indictment. Officers are assigned as advisors to the program and are expected to maintain only professional relationships with members.

Brienzo, in addition to being a sergeant within the department, was also the acting sergeant of the program in a supervisory role, according to the indictment. He also, at one point, was an explorer himself, according to a 2016 Facebook post by the department.

“Under the Explorer Post Rules of Conduct, explorers are required to ‘follow all lawful orders given by higher ranking members of the exploring command staff, commissioned officers or other members of the Parker Police Department. Insubordination will not be
tolerated’,” the indictment cited from the rule book.

The incident alleged in the indictment took place on Jan. 3, when a member of the program sent Brienzo a text message after explorer training earlier that day, according to the documents. She wanted to clear up confusion over any “rude or ungrateful” activity that members had been engaging in, and ensure that she was not coming off as that herself.

Upon receiving the text, Brienzo invited her to do a law enforcement ride-along with her that night. He also told her she did not need to wear her explorer uniform when she met up with him.

Brienzo picked her up between 7:30 and 8 p.m. from the PPD in his patrol car, but did not notify dispatch or update his computer systems to note he was riding along with an explorer, a deviation from standard procedure, according to the indictment. The two drove around and talked to one another until 11 p.m.

During the meetup, Brienzo told her that his current girlfriend was not meeting his sexual needs, and described several fantasies he had about having sex in his patrol car, according to the indictment. He also asked her if it would ruin their working relationship if he wanted to pull over and have sex with her; she told him she would say no, but the conversation alone was not a deal-breaker.

Brienzo continued to bring up sexual discussion topics, despite her multiple attempts to divert the conversation elsewhere, according to the indictment. He told her he wanted to engage in these hypothetical encounters with her. She continued to reply that she did not see their relationship that way.

At one point, Brienzo admitted that he had found her attractive during an out-of-state program competition they attended together when she was 16 years old, according to the indictment.

He also asked if she would be more interested if he were not involved with the Explorers program. She said she would still not be interested, as he would still be involved in the department, and she would continue to participate in its programming.

She later described to investigators how Brienzo persisted in his requests and asked if she could go back to the department with him so he could perform a more “touchy” search on her, according to the indictment. She told him that, if that were going to be enough for him, she would agree as long as their clothing stayed on.

At 11 p.m., the two went back to the department, where Brienzo removed his body-worn camera before placing her hands behind her back, according to the indictment. He then allegedly groped her breasts both above and below her clothing, far outside the boundaries of a routine pat-down search.

She also said that he touched her vaginal area, but that he did not place his hand underneath her jeans, according to the indictment.

During the interaction, he released his hands and tried to kiss her, but she backed away. Brienzo then asked to search her one more time; during that second search, he allegedly pulled her hands down to touch his genitals over his clothing.

After the second pat-down, she told Brienzo that she had to leave for the night. While walking back outside to his car, he allegedly told her that she could not even tell her closest friends about their encounter, as it would ruin his career.

He then drove her to an empty dirt lot and said he wanted to perform oral sex on her, and again she told him no, according to the indictment. He then told her that, at an upcoming explorer competition in Arizona, he wanted her to sneak out to his hotel room.

She later told investigators that the comment made her feel uncomfortable, as he was a sergeant and she was not. He eventually drove her back to her car at the department just before midnight. She disclosed what had happened to her friend the following day and then to an officer with the department.

Four days after the incident, Cmdr. Jacob Schuster informed Brienzo about the allegations and said they would be criminal in nature, according to the indictment. After hearing the news, Brienzo called a friend in the department and said he was put on leave.

“I’m losing my job,” he said, according to the indictment.

Brienzo also called a friend previously employed by the department who now works for the Colorado Department of Investigation, and told the friend that an adult explorer had called him up for a last-minute ride-along and showed up in plain clothes, according to the indictment. He also said she had consented to him going up her shirt and that the contact was “wanted” and “agreed upon.”

Department officials had placed Brienzo on administrative leave days after the allegations first came to light, and he resigned from his position a month later. Brienzo was then arrested on April 3 after the grand jury returned the indictment.

During the investigation, detectives also interviewed another witness on Feb. 8, who said that, during her time as an explorer in the department, Brienzo was her advisor and the two had an intimate relationship, according to the indictment. She described that she did a ride-along with Brienzo, during which the two had sex in his patrol vehicle.

Until the release of the indictment at the request of The Denver Gazette, the details surrounding the investigation into Brienzo and his resignation had not been public, with department officials repeatedly declining to provide more information.

Altogether, the grand jury charged Brienzo with seven counts after hearing testimony from several witnesses, including three counts of unlawful sexual conduct by a peace officer — two felony and one misdemeanor — as well as four counts of official misconduct.

Brienzo is scheduled to appear in court on April 13 for an arraignment. His bond was set at $25,000, which he posted, court records show.

Denver Gazette City Editor Dennis Huspeni contributed to this story.