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CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Officer Reginald “Rock” Harris is a 26-year veteran of the Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department. He’s now charged with three counts of first degree sex offense, three counts of indecent liberties with a child, and three counts of crimes against nature. His wife, 40-year-old Dia Harris, faces the same charges as well as three counts of felony child abuse. Police would only say she knew the abuse was happening and allowed it.
The police report indicates a then-10-year-old girl related to the couple made the accusations. Deputy Chief Kerr Putney says she was actually eight when the abuse started in 1999. In 2009, she stepped forward with the accusations, but then immediately stopped cooperating. Police dropped the investigation into Harris, citing a lack of probable cause. Last month, the alleged victim stepped forward again.
“The good thing about the case is the allegations have never changed, they’ve been consistent. And at this age, the victim is much more mature and wants justice served,” says Putney.
Putney says the victim was pressured to stop talking because Rock Harris is the family’s breadwinner. For a period of time, Harris was a homicide detective with CMPD. 52-year-old Harris was most recently making nearly $71,000 a year as a patrol officer in the North Tryon division.
Putney says, “Let’s be honest. You had family members, you had people within church institutions, that were reached out to, most of which encouraged the victim not to move forward.” He continues, “Anybody obstructing justice is gonna be held accountable. We came close a few times with people who were inserting themselves.”
Officer Harris and his wife Dia lived at a home on Tristan Court in northeast Charlotte when the alleged abuse happened in their house. Now, the couple lives at a home on Spring Park Drive in north Charlotte. No one was home there, but the next door neighbors were. George Turner says, “I thought he was a real nice guy. The rest of the family, the rest of the comings and goings, like, nobody was very sociable. But he seemed like a very likeable guy.”
Linda Dais-Turner says, “You know, you get a feeling about people. I didn’t get that warm feeling, that neighborly feeling.”
We’re working to learn the name of the church where police say members tried to persuade the victim to not move forward. Rock Harris is on unpaid leave pending an internal and criminal investigation. He and his wife remain behind bars.
