AUSTIN -- Austin police have charged a man with sexual assault and impersonating a public servant.
Police say Frederick William Popp, 49, pretended to be a police officer and sexually assaulted a woman in her early 20s on Sept. 25 at an apartment in the 8000 block of La Cresada.
The female victim says that night she tried out a singles chat line she saw advertised on TVcalled Quest. She left a message saying she was looking for someone in South Austin to hang out with.
Someone replied, and they exchanged messages and eventually phone numbers. The male, who had yet to identify himself, told her he would like to meet up but suggested they exchange photos first.
The female sent him a photo of herself. The man replied he would like to be her sugar daddy and giver her money and take care of her. According to police, when the female received a photo of the man, she thought he looked too old for her, so she stopped responding to his texts.
The suspect continued to text her asking if they were going to meet. The female responded, telling him no to which he replied that he was an Austin police officer named Officer Dunn. In reality, police say the man was Popp, pretending to be a police officer. Popp told the woman she would be arrested for prostitution. He told her in order to avoid arrest, she must meet him immediately.
The woman met Popp at a nearby church. He arrived in a dark, four-door truck and asked for her I.D. He then told her if she had sex with him, she would not be arrested.
After the woman got in the truck, Pop drove about 15 minutes, eventually exiting off MoPac on Davis Lane.Throughout the drive, the woman says Popp pretended to be an Austin police officer, saying he was looking for his radio so he could make a call on a drunk driver in front of him.
He drove the woman to an apartment complex. When they entered the apartment, the woman immediately saw a black, police style rifle Popp told her he had been cleaning.
After forcing the woman to have sex with him,Popp drove her back to the church at which point he told her she would have to see him at least two more times to avoid arrest. He told her if she didn't respond to his texts, he would arrest her and her family.
Popp attempted to contact the woman the next day, and as she didn't respond, his texts grew more threatening. Popp told the woman he had video footage of her.
The woman decided she would rather be arrested than be sexually assaulted again, so she told a family member what happened who immediately called police.
Popp is in the Travis County Jail on $115,000 bond.
