She caught her cheating cop husband — and was charged

A Virginia cop and his wife are both facing criminal charges after she secretly taped him to prove he was having an affair — and unwittingly captured what could be information. important information in a felony trial.

Sharon Maddox, 41, admitted during a hearing Wednesday to pestering her husband, Chesapeake police officer Sean Maddox, after she became concerned he was cheating on her last April. She told local news outlet 10 On Your Side that she surreptitiously placed a recording device in his team’s car for three days after finding a blonde in his car and some suspicious activity on his Facebook ta.

According to her attorney, Kristin Paulding, the tape confirmed what Sharon suspected: that her husband was sleeping with a local 911 dispatcher. The recording could have remained secret forever had the dispatcher not accused Sean Maddox a few weeks later of kidnapping and raping her on April 27 – the day after his wife placed the recording device. in his car.

On June 1, Maddox was arrested on charges including kidnapping, rape and sodomy. Sharon’s attorney said she was willing to turn over her recordings to her husband’s defense attorney after he was arrested, in an attempt to prove his innocence. When Chesapeake police began questioning Sharon about the recordings, Paulding said, she thought they were looking for evidence against him. Instead, they charged her this week with wiretapping for creating the secret tape.

Paulding said: “She was definitely a bit subdued because she had no idea they were actually investigating her. “She believes they want the recording to help settle the lawsuit against her husband, which has already continued.”

Maddox is a 13-year veteran of the Chesapeake Police Department, where he served as a lieutenant before losing his job to the charges. According to court testimony from the 911 dispatcher, the two began a romantic relationship last January, which quickly led to them having sex at least once a week. However, by April, the dispatcher said, she had doubts that the officer would not leave her wife, and she began to think about ending the relationship.

On April 26, she claimed, Sean Maddox gave her $100 cash for a hotel reservation and asked her to meet him there that night, as they usually do. The dispatcher claims she booked the hotel, but dated another cop—during which time, she claims Maddox called and texted her 25 times.

As she drove home early that morning, she said, she was run over by a Chesapeake patrol car, which turned out to be Maddox. She said he threatened to charge her with one count of forgery and forced her to go to the hotel, where he proceeded to rape her orally, anal and vaginal. She also said that he filmed parts of the encounter and threatened to send it to anyone else she tried to date.

A few days later, under the arrest warrant of 13 Instant NewsMaddox texted her to say she “didn’t know how much I had to try to control myself and not do bad things”, then clarified: “For you, a lot of things, were hurt you.”

“And that’s still an option,” he allegedly added. “Keep your head on a swing.”

Maddox’s defense attorneys paint a different version of events, arguing that the dispatcher was a scorned lover who protested to the officer when he refused to leave his wife. They claimed at the hearing that she sent multiple text messages in the days after the alleged assault saying she loved him and wanted to be with him, while accusing him of “polishing” her when he didn’t answer. (The woman said she didn’t remember sending those messages at the time.)

In a statement to The Daily Beast, attorney Taite Westendorf called the case “a real-life example of Deadly attraction“And said the woman had” admitted to loving Mr. Maddox and became emotionally unstable when he refused to leave his family for her. ”

“Mr. Maddox is completely innocent of all charges and expects a jury of his colleagues to exercise common sense that the government’s approach to this case is so flawed, ” he said.

Meanwhile, Sharon Maddox’s attorney said she could not understand why police would prosecute the veteran Animal Control sergeant when neither her husband nor the dispatcher asked for it.

“She was just trying to protect her own interests and see if her marriage would fall apart—in fact it was—and then they turned around and her own employer only knew. stalking her,” Paulding said.

Sharon has yet to be prosecuted but she lost her job with Animal Control. Maddox is scheduled to appear in court on May 17.

Both Paulding and Westendorf say their clients are supporting each other during their respective ordeals, though they declined to comment on their current living arrangements. At the bail hearing, Sharon told the judge that Maddox could return to their home if he was released, and Paulding said Maddox would be in court for a preliminary hearing on Wednesday.

“They are definitely a united front in supporting each other in their respective cases,” she said.