TEXARKANA, Texas–The mother of a 15-year-old girl has accused Texarkana police supervisors of ignoring “red flags” from a patrol officer who has been criminally charged with multiple felonies for alleged sexual abuse that occurred during youth Explorer’s Program ride-alongs, in a lawsuit filed last week in Texas federal court.
The mother’s complaint alleges that leadership at the Texarkana Texas Police Department had suspicions about Zackary Taylor Gilley, but failed to act to protect the teen.
“Defendant Gilley did not hide his preference for [the girl] to his employer, his supervisors, or other officers with TTPD, as he exhibited a poor attitude when another participant was assigned to him,” the mother’s complaint alleges.
Supervisors at TTPD who are named along with the city of Texarkana, Texas, as defendants allegedly stopped assigning any other Explorer’s Program participants to Gilley besides the alleged victim, giving him unfettered access to her as the two rode alone together on a number of 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. shifts beginning in January 2024.
“Defendant Gilley’s repeated insistence on exclusive access to [the girl], coupled with his adverse reaction when separated from [the girl], constituted a clear and obvious red flag of potential grooming behavior and sexual misconduct,” the lawsuit alleges. “It should have been plainly obvious to defendant city and the supervisory defendants that allowing defendant Gilley to isolate [the girl] in this manner posed a substantial and foreseeable risk of sexual abuse.”
Gilley, 32, is facing two counts of sexual assault of a child, a single count of child grooming, three counts of indecency with a child by contact and a single count of indecency with a child by exposure, court records show. He was indicted by a Bowie County grand jury last year in August and September.
According to the lawsuit and probable cause affidavits in Gilley’s criminal case, the former patrol officer first began grooming the girl in early 2024, telling her he had a “crush” on her. From there, the misconduct allegedly escalated from talking about a crush and making her “pinky swear” not to tell, to hand holding and kissing and eventually sexual assault, affidavits said.
Gilley allegedly forced the girl to perform oral sex on him in the cruiser by exposing himself, grabbing her hair and pushing her face into his lap, the lawsuit alleges.
“This act caused [the girl] physical pain as the brackets of her orthodontic braces cut into the back of her mouth,” the lawsuit said. “Despite her attempts to stop due to the pain, defendant Gilley grabbed her hair again and forced her to continue until he ejaculated into her mouth and on her face.”
The Explorer’s Program is designed to encourage teens to consider a career in law enforcement.
The girl allegedly wanted to become a police officer but lost all interest in the profession after her experience with Gilley, the lawsuit said.
The girl’s mother is accusing leadership at the city and in the police department of failing to act after suspicions were raised, including when Gilley allegedly showed an “overt preference” for the girl and when he was questioned about a potential divorce that led him to instruct her to delete incriminating text messages from her cell phone.
“This failure to act effectively ratified defendant Gilley’s conduct and signaled to subordinates that boundary violations with minors would be tolerated or ignored,” the lawsuit alleges. “Defendant city is liable for the violation of [the girl’s] constitutional rights because the violation
was caused by the official policies, customs, or practices of the city regarding the TTPD
Explorer Program.”
Along with the city, the lawsuit names Gilley and a number of police department supervisors as defendants.
The mother is seeking compensatory and punitive damages for her daughter’s “severe emotional distress, anguish, suffering, humiliation, psychological injuries, indignities, loss of enjoyment of life, deprivation of constitutional rights, invasion of bodily integrity, and other incidental, consequential, and special damages.”
The mother is represented by Meghan Mitchell of Faddoul Cluff Hardy & Conaway PC and Michael C. Kane of THE702FIRM.
The case is currently pending in the Texarkana Division of the Eastern District of Texas and is assigned to U.S. District Judge Robert Schroeder III.
Gilley is currently free on a $600,000 bond. TTPD was first made aware of the allegations in June. Gilley was placed on administrative leave and then arrested the same day, records show.
Gilley is represented in his criminal case by Texarkana lawyer Jeff Harrelson. The state is represented in the criminal case by Bowie County District Attorney-elect Kelley Crisp.