Mesquite police officer fired amid allegations of two sexual assaults

A veteran Mesquite police officer has been fired amid allegations he sexually assaulted two women, including one while he was on duty.

City officials fired Kirt Hughes, a 10-year police veteran, on Dec. 23 for conduct unbecoming an officer, according to the city manager's office.

Hughes had been on paid administrative leave since September, when the Nevada Department of Public Safety launched a criminal investigation on behalf of the Mesquite Police Department, an agency of about 30 officers that polices the town of 20,000 residents.

The investigation centered on allegations from two women who said Hughes had sexually assaulted them, according to a state investigative report.

One of the women said Hughes was on duty when he stopped by her house one morning in December 2007 to give her a wedding invitation. After she invited Hughes in for coffee, he made sexual advances and groped her before leaving, the report said.

The woman told police Chief Doug Law about the incident but did not file a formal complaint against Hughes, citing fear of retaliation, the report said. Law told investigators he talked to Hughes about the allegation and "prior similar complaints," but he could not proceed until someone filed a complaint, the report said.

The second woman told detectives that Hughes raped her at her house in March 2004. The woman reported the incident at the time but didn't press charges because she didn't think anyone would believe her, the report said.

Both women eventually filed written complaints in August, which launched the criminal investigation.

State investigators referred the case to the Clark County district attorney's office in October with recommended felony charges of battery with intent to commit a crime and sexual assault. Prosecutor Eric Jorgenson reviewed the case and declined to file charges because one of the allegations fell beyond the statute of limitations and the other could not be proven in court, he said.

The Lincoln County sheriff's department then conducted an internal investigation on behalf of Mesquite and came to the finding that led to Hughes' firing.

A phone call made to Hughes' listed home number seeking comment was not returned.

Contact reporter Brian Haynes at bhaynes@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0281.