Rockville Centre cop suspended after secretly filming sex encounter

A Rockville Centre police officer was suspended without pay after he was arrested last weekend for allegedly recording a woman during a sexual encounter in his bedroom without her knowing.

Nassau County police confirmed that the 27-year-old officer, Christopher Stafford, of East Meadow, was arrested on Saturday. He was charged with second-degree unlawful surveillance.

Newsday reported that the unnamed victim became aware of the video, according to the felony complaint, when Stafford forwarded a photo from the video through Snapchat. The complaint also reportedly said that the officer recorded the video “for his own amusement, entertainment and sexual arousal.”

Village spokeswoman Julie Scully told the Herald that Stafford, who was sworn in on March 6, 2017, handed in his badge and gun around the time of his arrest, and that his suspension without pay was effective immediately. “Beyond that, it’s pretty much inappropriate to comment, since it’s under investigation,” Scully said.

Rockville Centre Police Commissioner Charles Gennario could not be reached for comment at press time.

The Herald previously reported when he was sworn in that Stafford was born and raised in Nassau County, and was following in his father’s footsteps by becoming a police officer. Stafford was a corrections officer before joining the village police department and was a lieutenant in the East Meadow Fire Department.

Nassau County District Court Judge Tricia Ferrell gave Stafford a conditional release to probation, Newsday reported, and issued a stay-away order of protection.

Stafford is due back in court on March 9.