DENVER — A Denver police officer has been fired for allegedly falsely accusing a woman of raping him in an effort to avoid paying child support.

Officer Samuel Sheppard was fired on Sept. 16, according to a disciplinary letter.

According to Denver Department of Public Safety, Sheppard submitted a police report on April 1, 2018, claiming the mother of his child had entered his home while he was on leave from the department and sexually assaulted him.

Sheppard told officers “he believed that the complainant ‘took advantage of his altered mental state and the medications that he was taking in order to have sex with him.'”

Records show he was on leave from the department from Nov. 1, 2016 until Nov. 28, 2016.

But records also show the child was born in October, which doesn’t match up with Sheppard’s timeline.

Text messages provided by the woman also show Sheppard picked her up on the night he claims the assault happened.

The following morning, text messages show he asked her if she was on birth control. The woman replied “no,” to which Sheppard replied “oh no.”

Deputy Director of Safety Mary Dulacki wrote, “Officer Sheppard made an unfounded sexual assault claim against the complainant seemingly to avoid his financial obligations.”

According to the Department of Public Safety, Sheppard has not filed an appeal on the decision, and it does not believe he plans on doing so.