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Phoenix officerfaces sexcharges By CHRIS BRISTOL PHOENIX -- A Phoenix police officer has been arrested on sex-related misdemeanor charges involving juveniles. Jon Edward Bigman Jr., 31, was taken into custody by Oregon State Police detectives Wednesday afternoon on two counts each of third-degree sexual abuse, public indecency and furnishing alcohol to minors. He was booked at the Jackson County Jail, and released to appear in court Sept. 15 after posting 10 percent of $24,000 bail. Bigman's arrest was the second this year involving the Phoenix Police Department. Officer Mike West resigned in March after he was accused of throttling a belligerent shoplifter. Both cases were investigated by state police. Information about Bigman's service record and details about his arrest were sketchy. A press release from the Jackson County district attorney's office gave no background, and an OSP spokesman was not available for comment. The arrest was linked to an OSP log report that documented at least two encounters between two unidentified juveniles and an unidentified suspect. According to the log, the suspect pulled down his pants and exposed himself after furnishing the juveniles with liquor. The juveniles said the suspect touched one of them "on a private area on two separate occasions." The juveniles were not identified by gender or age, and neither was the suspect. The log report also did not specify where the alleged encounters took place. The prosecution will be handled by the Klamath County district attorney's office, according to Jackson County District Attorney Mark Huddleston. Bigman was the third Rogue Valley police officer, and the second member of the Phoenix department, arrested this year. West, who became a full-time Phoenix officer in 1995 after several years as a reserve, resigned March 18 after he was charged with choking a belligerent Yreka, Calif., man who was in custody -- and handcuffs -- for shoplifting a package of cold tablets. West, 49, faces charges of fourth-degree assault and first-degree official misconduct, both Class A misdemeanors. A trial date has not been set. Phoenix Police Chief Bob Kershaw later described West as a "damn good police officer" who was under strain at the time of the incident from marital problems. Kershaw could not be reached Wednesday for comment on Bigman. In June, Gold Hill Police Chief David Crawford resigned after he was convicted of threatening an elderly couple during an off-duty traffic dispute and assaulting a dirt-biker after a chase. Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, Oregon USA