LAKE CHARLES — A Southwest Louisiana deputy has been fired after being charged with rape in a neighboring parish.
Calcasieu Parish Sheriff's Deputy Robert Shortridge, 40, was fired Tuesday by Sheriff Tony Mancuso after Mancuso learned Shortridge was charged with rape in Beauregard Parish according to a news release from the sheriff's office.
Shortridge had been with the department for about 19 years and was most recently working as a detective at the South Lake Charles Law Enforcement Center according to the release.
After his termination Shortridge was transported to the Beauregard Parish Jail were he was booked on the charges the release said.
“I am not only sorry for the victim, I am embarrassed for our profession. Our department has many dedicated men and women who take their oath seriously and the actions of one deputy gives them all a black eye,” Sheriff Tony Mancuso was quoted as saying in the release.
“I hold all of my deputies to a higher standard and criminal activity will not be tolerated in our department," Mancuso said.
