An Oklahoma City woman was pleaded guilty last week to offering sexual favors to a police officer in return for not taking her to jail.
Guilty Plea for Bribery
As part of a plea agreement negotiated by her defense lawyer, Regina Marie Dotson, 39, pleaded guilty to offering a bribe, larceny, and public intoxication, admitting to the court, "I offered a sexual bribe to an officer to not take me to jail." In return for her guilty plea, Dotson will receive 10 years' probation for the crimes. Oklahoma City police sergeant Kevin Parton testified that he arrested Regina Dotson last year after she shoplifted $15.25 worth of merchandise from a local grocery store.
As the officer drove her to jail, Dotson, who has a record of Oklahoma City drug offenses, began to offer him sexual favors if he would not take her to jail. Parton says he started recording Parton's sexual bribes when she became increasingly explicit. Bribery is a white collar crime in Oklahoma in which money or other compensation is promised or given in an attempt to sway one's opinions or decisions. Both offering and accepting bribes are considered crimes.
Bribery in Oklahoma
Under Oklahoma law, "The term 'bribe' signifies any money, goods, right in action, property, thing of value or advantage, present or prospective, or any promise or undertaking, asked, given, or accepted, with a corrupt intent to influence unlawfully the person to whom it is given, in his action, vote or opinion, in any public or official capacity."
Any individual charged with offering or accepting a bribe in Oklahoma should consult an experienced Oklahoma white collar defense attorney as soon as possible to begin protecting his or her rights and to craft a strategy for successful defense. At Phillips & Associates we have a history of successful results in such cases.