A King County jury took just two hours of deliberation to acquit a Bothell police detective on Tuesday on all three counts that she engaged in sexual misconduct with an underage female Bothell High School student.
Dione E. Thompson, 46, was the acting school resource officer at the time of the incidents that allegedly took place in 2010 when the girl was 17 years old. Thompson was charged with three counts of first degree sexual misconduct in February.
Thompson has been cleared to return to work on Monday as a patrol officer.
“I’m obviously very very pleased that the jury acquitted her so quickly, I believe that justice was done,” said David Allen, Thompson’s defense attorney.
Thompson took the stand in her own defense during the three-week trial.
“She was on the stand for a day and a half and she didn’t have anything to hide, she wanted to tell the truth that she was innocent,” Allen said.
“She didn’t want to hide behind the council table,” said Allen.
The jury took two votes, with the first yielding only one juror voting ‘guilty,’ the second vote unanimously acquitted Thompson.
Allen told the press after the verdict that his client looks forward to going back to work at the Bothell Police Department.
According to a website ran by the Bothell Police Department, an internal investigation into the case is ongoing. It states Thompson will remain on paid leave until the investigation concludes.
Thompson was accused of having sex with the girl, who is now a male, multiple times in a marked police car, which was allegedly an abuse of power court documents said.
Dione Thompson has been with the department for more than 17 years after she was hired in 1998.