ODESSA, Texas — An Odessa Police officer has been placed on administrative leave after Midland Police opened an investigation on her.
Officer Annette Rios Cooper is on leave without pay while she is being investigated for the criminal offense of failure to report a felony.
An OPD spokesperson said there is an ongoing administrative investigation.
The Midland Police Department contacted OPD on November 22, 2021 to let them know about the investigation.
According to Cooper's arrest affidavit, an MPD officer received a call from CPS about a potential child sexual assault on a nine-year-old girl.
The MPD officer spoke with the girl's father, who said the abuse had been happening since summer of 2021. He also said his sister, Annette, did not want him to know about the situation since she was afraid he would "get p****d off and hurt somebody."
On October 14, another person who stated she was friends with Annette and had previously dated her brother came into the police department and told officers Annette had texted her, telling her that her mom thought the little girl was being sexually abused.
The little girl also had reportedly made an outcry about being sexually abused to her family on September 15, 2021.
According to the affidavit, the text messages between Annette Cooper and her friend reportedly showed Cooper claiming the following:
"I wouldn't tell the cops. To be honest it would be a long process for nothing . They don't charge them all they do is put them in juvy and then watch them until 18. It's a joke. But I would prefer he get help because he definitely not right in the head."
The affidavit also states Annette told one of the others involved in the situation to call CPS and pretend to be her to report the abuse.
An officer asked the person who reported on Cooper why she thought Cooper had not reported the abuse, to which she replied that Cooper was worried about her parents hating her for reporting it and getting the suspected abuser sent to jail.
The officer also said they learned the victim had been threatened with physical harm if she told anyone about the abuse.
Since Cooper did not report the abuse when the child made the outcry in September, she was arrested and charged.