(KPEL News) - A now-former deputy with the St. Mary Parish Sheriff's Office was arrested for allegedly stalking and watching a former girlfriend.
The Ascension Parish Sheriff's Office started the investigation, and St. Mary Parish Sheriff Gary Driskell says they cooperated fully.
Driskell says they also launched their own internal affairs investigation into the activities of the former deputy.
Sheriff Driskell says that Mign Ngo was employed as a deputy with the St. Mary Parish Sheriff's Office until the Ascension Parish Sheriff's Office arrested him on allegations that he was watching his former girlfriend in her home on cameras he himself had installed.
In addition to the video voyeurism charge, Ngo was also charged with alleged computer tampering and stalking.
The arrest of 33-year-old Ngo happened on Tuesday, September 16, and the investigation began after someone contacted the Ascension Parish Sheriff's Office, saying a crime had possibly been committed, and Ngo was the alleged perpetrator.
The Ascension Parish Sheriff's Office, where the crimes allegedly happened, immediately began investigating the situation. Sheriff Driskell says their Office of Professional Standards also initiated an investigation.
Over the period of four months, investigators say he was spying upon Ngo's ex-girlfriend in her own house.
Sheriff Driskell had the following to say about this incident,
The St. Mary Parish Sheriff's Office exists to uphold the law, and no one is above the law, not even those who wear our badge. While it is never easy to arrest one of our own, it is necessary to maintain the trust of the citizens we serve. We will continue to hold ourselves to the highest standards of accountability and integrity.
The Ascension Parish Sheriff's Office obtained a search warrant for Ngo's devices after his former girlfriend explained to investigators in a Thursday, September 11, interview that Ngo had accessed her cameras.
Investigators say when they searched those devices, they found evidence that the man had been accessing the cameras for at least four months.
Ngo was booked into the St. Mary Parish Law Enforcement Center and then transferred to the Ascension Parish Jail.
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