A former Maryland police officer convicted of sexually assaulting a fellow officer has been granted a new trial and was released from jail.
Richard Tallant was sentenced in December 2020 to spend seven years in prison. He was convicted in December 2019 of sexually assaulting a female colleague after they left a social event at the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 89 in Upper Marlboro in 2017.
A judge recently granted Tallant a new trial and released him from prison to home confinement after his attorneys claimed evidence was withheld from the defense and there was prosecutor misconduct.
"I’m very upset that we're back at square one and having to do this all over again, but I am confident that we will have the same outcome we had the first time," the alleged victim told News4 by phone on Thursday.
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Tallant has served three years of his sentence.
"He has maintained his innocence. He continues to maintain his innocence. He had almost served half of the time that had been imposed," Tallant's attorney Oana Brooks said.
The state's attorney denies there was any prosecutor misconduct, as the defense claims.
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"From what I understand, the state's attorney's office released a statement saying they are absolutely going to re-try the case, and I have to tell you, we're very much looking forward to it," Brooks said.
"We’re very disappointed. As a lawyer, I do not see any new evidence at all," said Terry Roberts, who represents the alleged victim in a civil lawsuit.
Now, her client is preparing to testify again.
"This is kind of a prime example of why many victims don’t come forward," she said.
She said Tallant followed her outside of the FOP Lodge, tackled her and sexually assaulted her in the parking lot in February 2017.
The alleged victim said she was called a snitch and felt forced to resign from her job.
"It’s not just people saying, you know, they didn’t like me. They took it to the extreme of not wanting to back me because they don't like me and because I tattletaled on police officers," she said.
The new trial was set for July.
The alleged victim has filed a federal civil lawsuit against Prince George's County and Tallant.
