Still screengrab of Prince George's County Police Officer embracing a woman. (Credit: TikTok video by user trapploss_)
A kiss, as it turns out, isn't always just a kiss. In Maryland, a Prince George's County police officer has been suspended after he was caught on social media smooching a woman — who wasn't his wife — before slipping into the backseat of his squad car with her.
The video of Officer Francesco Marlett went viral online, garnering a million views and prompted the Prince George's County Police Department to open an investigation into his conduct. It also sparked a reaction from Paula Marlett, who says she is the embroiled officer's wife.
Paula Marlett told the New York Post she and her husband had hit a "rough patch," but she expected they would "get through everything at the end of the day." She also had sharp words for the woman kissing her husband. Paula Marlett identified her as Virginia Pinto and said her husband had just "used her for sex [because] she was easy." Marlett also called her "dirty" and told her to "rot in hell" in a post made Wednesday to Facebook.
Pinto responded to Marlett publicly and didn't deny the affair. She also said their excursion to his backseat wasn't a "one-night stand." The two had been coupling up for two years, she said.
"I'm living my life. I have children. I'm sure, as you guys know, I have a 15-year-old autistic boy. His father was Caucasian. I guess I have a thing for Caucasians," Pinto told the New York Post.
She continued: "In my head, I've done nothing wrong. I'm going to continue living my life, doing what I'm doing. In my heart, in his heart, I know that I've done nothing. He knows. Paula knows. I've done nothing wrong. God is my higher power."
ABC's WJLA-TV affiliate KOMO News reported Thursday that the now-suspended officer has been in the hot seat a few times before. He was indicted on child abuse and assault charges in 2016, but those charges were dropped, and his record has since been expunged. And this May, Marlett was suspended for a month on domestic violence charges.
Prince George's County Police said Marlett was suspended on Tuesday after the video surfaced and spread like wildfire. In a statement, Prince George's County Chief of Police Malik Aziz said the officer's actions "put a negative spotlight on [the] agency and the many hard-working women and men who wear our uniform."
"I expect every officer to conduct themselves in a way that will not dishonor this agency or this county. I assure the residents of Prince George's County I take this matter extremely seriously," Aziz said.
If the one video weren't enough to unsettle things for the officer, a second video of Pinto allegedly slinking into the squad car believed to be Marlett's has surfaced as well. The Daily Mail posted it Thursday.
For the moment, Marlett is on paid leave.
Watch the video here.
