HOUSTON — A former security guard who is accused of posing as a cop and then kidnapping and sexually assaulting a man faced a judge on Monday.
Geonary Gillespie, 28, is charged with aggravated sexual assault, aggravated kidnapping and impersonating a public servant.
Prosecutors said the 25-year-old victim had just got off work around midnight on Oct. 4 when he stopped at a corner store in Spring Branch. He left and started walking home when he was approached and stopped by Gillespie, who was pretending to be a police officer.
Gillespie is accused of flashing his emergency lights and flagging the victim down on Westview. According to prosecutors, Gillespie told the victim that he was a suspect in a crime and he detained him by putting him in handcuffs and placing him in the back of his car.
He took the victim's information and allegedly called dispatch before taking him to another location where he sexually assaulted him, authorities said.
The victim told authorities that he didn't fight back because he was scared for his life and believed Gillespie was a real police officer who had a gun.
"On top of that intimate level of violation, you have a defendant who is posing as a police officer, someone that as a community we're supposed to trust, and we are trained and educated to trust, and here he is abusing that position of power to take advantage of somebody and ultimately sexually assault them," Harris County District Attorney's Office prosecutor Barbara Phillips said.
Prosecutors said Gillespie even texted the victim later that night to check on him.
The victim filed a police report a few days later and investigators tracked down Gillespie's vehicle through surveillance video.
According to Gillespie's former employer, Texas Crime, LLC, which is a private security company in Houston, Gillespie used his personal vehicle for work. The company said he was off the clock at the time of the crime and has since been fired. They also said he had a second security job where he worked overnight.
During Monday's court appearance, Gillespie's initial $300,000 bond was lowered to $230,000.
"Obviously, I did not want the court to reduce the bond, but I do think the bond is remaining sufficiently high that will keep him in custody as well as keep the community safe," Phillips said.
Prosecutors said they think there might be more victims and want anyone with information to come forward.
If Gillespie posts bond, he won't be allowed to have guns, badges, police uniforms or anything else that could make him look like an officer.