Swain County sheriff announces retirement days after sexual assault charges
Facing sexual assault charges, Swain County Sheriff Curtis Cochran has retired.
The county shared the news Thursday on Facebook. Cochran notified the board of commissioners of his immediate retirement on July 1, according to a statement from that board. A judge suspended him from his job on June 27.
While the county works to find someone to replace him, Chief Deputy Brian Kirkland is “performing all the duties of the sheriff,” the statement said.
Cochran, 72, is accused of touching a woman in his work vehicle and continuing to do so despite her objections in late June. He repeatedly urged her to give him oral sex and asked how much she charged, according to a court petition filed by the local prosecutor. That petition said he also rubbed his penis in front of her.
It could be their secret, he said, according to the petition.
While investigating that incident, Cherokee Indian Police Department Assistant Chief Josh Taylor saw the sheriff in his vehicle with another woman who had just been released from jail, according to the petition.
Police followed Cochran. The woman later told them that she was scared of the “‘sick, perverted old man’ who had touched her all over while they were riding down the road and had wanted her to do things that she did not want to do.”
Cochran offered her a ride after she was let out of jail, drove her in the opposite direction of where she asked and repeatedly touched her, she said.
After the first woman reported what reportedly happened, Cherokee Indian Police, the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation and Federal Bureau of Investigation began looking into the claims, according to the petition.
The county first elected Cochran sheriff in 2006.
Ryan Oehrli covers criminal justice in the Charlotte region for The Charlotte Observer. His work is produced with financial support from the nonprofit The Just Trust. The Observer maintains full editorial control of its journalism.