Ex-trooper Charged With Rape to Be Arraigned in Oklahoma

Michael Carvin (C) lead attorney for the petitioners in the King v. Burwell case, outside the Supreme Court in Washington, D.C., on March 4, 2015, as Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt listens at right. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

SAPULPA, Okla.—An ex-Oklahoma Highway Patrol trooper charged with rape and sexual battery of three women during traffic stops is scheduled to be arraigned.

A hearing is scheduled Wednesday in Creek County District Court for 42-year-old Eric Roberts, who also faces bribery, embezzlement and other charges. He has pleaded not guilty.

A judge last month ordered Roberts to stand trial after waiving a preliminary hearing on charges of rape by instrumentation, forcible sodomy, sexual battery, asking for or receiving a bribe and embezzlement. Roberts was ordered to trial in June on separate but related charges he assaulted or behaved inappropriately toward three women during traffic stops.

The allegations came to light last year when one woman filed a federal lawsuit.

Roberts was suspended from the patrol in July 2014 and resigned in September.