VIDALIA, La. — A Natchez Police Department employee was in jail Tuesday charged with the rape of a Natchez woman.

The Concordia Parish Sheriff’s Office is investigating the alleged Monday night rape on a levee near Vidalia.

W.D. Harris, 43, of 38 Myrtle Drive in Natchez, was arrested Tuesday on a charge of forcible rape in connection with the alleged incident.

Harris is not a sworn officer in the police department, said Natchez&160;Police Chief Willie Huff. As a civilian employee, Harris is a community services specialist, working to enforce ordinances regarding litter, abandoned cars and weeded lots.

According to sheriff’s reports, the victim stated that the suspect asked her out and that after picking up food in Vidalia, they drove to Ferriday, parked and talked for a while and then drove back toward Vidalia.

The victim said she was then driven to the levee, where she was raped.

She was later driven to the Vidalia convenience store, where she called Vidalia police at 8:15 p.m. The woman was treated and released from Riverland Medical Center.

Sheriff’s Investigator Dale Cowan and deputies Danny Merrill and Wayne Taylor responded to the call, and Investigator Janet Lee was called to assist in the investigation.

Huff said the police department will wait until Concordia Parish completes its investigation into the incident before he decides whether an administrative review by his own department is necessary.

&uot;He’s on administrative leave with pay&uot; until the investigations are complete, Huff said.