KNOXVILLE, Tenn. - The Tennessee Highway Patrol has allowed trooper James Randy Moss to resign rather than be fired over his on-duty tryst with porn star Barbie Cummings.
Officials served Moss with notice of his termination on Thursday, giving him the option of a hearing before he is officially dismissed. Earlier in the day, however, Moss had sent a letter of resignation, though officials said that they didn't know about the letter until after they had notified him he was fired.
Patrol spokesman Mike Browning told the AP that the Highway Patrol would honor Moss' letter of resignation.
Moss, 40, received oral sex from Cummings after he pulled her over for speeding on March 7. Cummings then wrote a graphic description of the encounter in her blog, claiming that Moss threw away prescription painkillers found in her car, watched porn videos from her website with her in his patrol car, and then videotaped the liaison. Meanwhile, Moss boasted about the incident to co-workers.
Another complaint was filed against Moss in March 2000 for sexual misconduct, claiming that the officer had asked a woman to expose herself during a traffic stop. A third woman came forward shortly after the Cummings story broke.
The Tennessee District Attorney is still looking over the case to determine whether or not to press criminal charges against Moss.
Moss will not be charged with throwing out the drugs in exchange for a sexual favor, according to his attorney Jack Lowery, because Moss only did "what many law enforcement officers have done when they find small amounts of drugs or alcohol."
"It's like catching a kid with beer – 'I'm going to make you pour it out. I'm not going to charge you with it,'" Lowery said.
The Knoxville News Sentinel reported Tuesday that Moss admitted to Cummings' claims, citing internal affairs records at the patrol.
"I sincerely regret the allegations that have been made against me, and I regret the resulting discredit that has been leveled at the Tennessee Highway Patrol," Moss wrote in the letter he sent to police.
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