Montco woman claims L. Merion officer stalked her

Investigators in Montgomery County are looking into allegations made at a public meeting Wednesday that a Lower Merion police officer stalked and "sexually assaulted" a township woman in 2010.

District Attorney Risa Vetri Ferman termed the accusations the 25-year-old woman made at a Board of Commissioners meeting "a very serious matter." By Thursday afternoon, at Ferman's direction, a county detective was dispatched to the woman's home to begin gathering information.

As shocked commissioners looked on Wednesday night, the woman told how the officer had stalked her for a month, sitting in a patrol car in a parking lot beneath her window.

The woman said she would tell authorities the officer's name, but she withheld her own name and divulged no other details. The remarks were made during the public-comment section of the meeting.

Lower Merion Township spokeswoman Brenda Viola said late Thursday the patrolman involved had been put on desk duty pending completion of the district attorney's investigation. - Bonnie L. Cook