Retired professor charged

Former Naval Academy teacher accused in 1990s abuse of female relative

A retired Naval Academy professor has been charged with sexually abusing a female relative when she was 12 to 14 years old.

Patrick Ryan Harrison, 66, of Hot Springs Village, Ark., was charged Friday with three counts of second-degree rape, five counts of second-degree sex offenses, a third-degree sex offense and a fourth-degree sex offense. Now 27, the woman told Anne Arundel County police in December that she was sexually abused from 1994 to 1996 in Harrison's former residence in Annapolis, according to charging documents.

Harrison turned himself in to police on Sunday. He was released from jail on Monday on his own recognizance, said his attorney, Thomas A. Pavlinic, who said that his client was falsely accused.

"These charges caught Mr. Harrison out of the blue," Pavlinic said. "There was no explanation why an adult woman waits 15 years" to make allegations.

Harrison worked as a civilian professor for the academy from 1976 until his retirement in 2003, according to a Naval Academy spokeswoman.

Last week, a Howard County judge granted the woman a temporary protective order against Harrison. The woman said that Harrison had been contacting her since the investigation began and that he has permits to carry several handguns, according to the order. A hearing on a request for a permanent protective order is to be held today in Howard County District Court.

The Baltimore Sun does not identify alleged victims of sexual abuse.