Durham officer accused of sex assault fired

A Durham police officer accused of sexually assaulting a woman last month has been fired, the police department said Thursday.

Joseph Allen Daniels, 35, is charged with first-degree kidnapping, second-degree forcible sexual offense and sexual battery.

A 27-year-old woman told police that Daniels assaulted her on June 4 at his Apex home. Daniel Meier, Daniels' attorney, said the woman was at a party at Daniels' home and spent the night.

The Durham Police Department initially placed him on desk duty following his arrest, but officials changed his status a day later to unpaid leave until the charges were resolved.

Daniels, who has been with the Durham Police Department since 2011, was fired on Monday.

WRAL News has repeatedly asked department leaders when they first learned of the Apex investigation but has received no response. WRAL also has been seeking an update on Daniels' status since last week.

“I think it’s unfortunate that they are not affording him the presumption of innocence and due process rights to which we should all be entitled," Meier said in a statement. "Instead, they are making [an] assumption based on the nature of the charges themselves, even before we have been provided any real discovery or opportunity to provide a response. We believe it would have been more fair and equitable to leave him suspended ... until the case was resolved.”