TEXARKANA, Texas — A police officer accused of sexually assaulting a teen girl is required to wear a GPS device and cannot have any contact with anyone under 18, according to a bond order filed Tuesday in Bowie County District Court.
Zackary Taylor Gilley, 32, of DeKalb, Texas, was arrested June 2 and booked into Bi-State Detention Center. He is charged with two counts of sexual assault of a child, one count of indecency with a child by contact and one count of indecency with a child by exposure, according to jail records. He has posted bond on a $600,000 bail.
Gilley is accused of assaulting a teen girl he mentored in the Texarkana Texas Police Department’s Explorer Program. The alleged abuse happened in a patrol vehicle while the pair worked radar on the side of Interstate 30, according to a probable cause affidavit.
The bond order also requires Gilley to stay in Bowie, Miller or Cass County and to have no contact with the victim or her family.
Gilley, who has been employed with TTPD since 2018, was placed on administrative leave just prior to his arrest. His case has been assigned to 202nd District Judge John Tidwell, according to court records.
The Explorer Program, a partnership with Scouting America, is for youths between the ages of 14 and 20. It is intended to give participants an inside-look at law enforcement and serve as career development training. Students spend time in a classroom and go on police calls, such as traffic stops and disturbance calls.
The program has been paused for review, according to TTPD.
In a forensic interview at the Texarkana Children’s Advocacy Center, the teen reported the inappropriate contact started in January or February 2024 and escalated until November 2024, according to a probable cause affidavit.
On May 18, Gilley allegedly messaged the teen and asked her to delete his number and all messages between them, because a supervisor had asked questions about Gilley’s possibly going through a divorce, according to the affidavit.
The victim asked if the supervisor knew about them, and Gilley replied, “No, and I’m trying to keep it that way, but you have to do the same,” the affidavit states.
Gilley had messaged the victim consistently since March, according to the affidavit.
Gilley has also been asked to resign from the Hubbard Independent School District Board in DeKalb.
