A veteran deputy with the Calcasieu Parish Sheriff's Office has been terminated after it was learned he was facing charges of rape in Beauregard Parish.

Deputy Robert Shortridge, 40, was terminated by Sheriff Tony Mancuso on Tuesday, July 17. He has since been transported and booked into the Beauregard Parish Jail.

“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,” says Sheriff Tony Mancuso. “I hold all of my deputies to a higher standard and criminal activity will not be tolerated in our department.”

According to Kim Myers, prior to his termination, Shortridge worked as a detective at the South Lake Charles Law Enforcement Center, where he and had been with the department for approximately 19 years.

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