Former Hillview Police detective pleads guilty to official misconduct

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- A former Hillview Police detective has pleaded guilty to official misconduct for participating in a sexual act while on duty.

Det. John Nissen was indicted in May for official misconduct, witness tampering and theft after allegedly having sexual contact with a woman who had told police she had been raped.

He was sentenced to a year in jail but he will not have to serve any time if he stays out of trouble for the next two years. He retired from the Hillview Police Department in July.

Nissen was suspended from the department in June after a woman claimed he tried to convince her to leave town when she reported that she had been raped repeatedly by Pioneer Village Police Chief D.J. Reynolds while living with him in September of 2017.

According to court documents, the woman told police that Nissen -- who knew the woman -- took her to a hotel in Hillview and engaged in a sexual act with her before asking her to leave the area.

In an interview with state police in February, Reynolds said he had consensual sex with the woman, and that she made up the allegations out of anger, after the relationship ended and he refused to give her money.

Reynolds has not been charged, but the investigation is ongoing.

In exchange for his guilty plea, the other charges against Nissen were dismissed. He was sentenced to 12 months in jail, which was conditionally discharged.

The plea will be set aside and dismissed if he stays out of trouble for two years.