A decorated St. Paul police officer has been charged with harassment after allegedly taunting a woman with tales of her sexual exploits with a man they both knew.

"Apparently, this is a love triangle," said Martha Holton Dimick, deputy city attorney for the city of Minneapolis, which is handling the case to avoid a possible conflict of interest. "It's pretty ugly."

In one of the tamer phone messages, officer Jessica Phillips, 28, allegedly stated, "We had sex probably 10 times this month and I have actual pictures and digital camera to prove it," according to the complaint filed against her Tuesday in Ramsey County District Court.

She has been charged with two counts of harassment, both gross misdemeanors, and unauthorized computer access, also a gross misdemeanor.

The latter charge stems from Phillips' alleged searches of state driver and vehicle services records for the alleged victim, the victim's ex-husband, as well as Phillips' sex partner -- who also is a St. Paul police officer, police spokesman Sgt. Paul Schnell said Wednesday.

The other officer currently is on administrative duty and is the subject of an internal investigation.

Phillips, who is on paid administrative leave, was summoned to appear in court on March 2.

The events described in the complaint allegedly occurred between May 2008 and September 2009.

In January 2009, Phillips received a medal of valor for a September 2007 incident during which she and another officer fatally shot a man who lunged at them with a knife.

Efforts to reach her for comment on Wednesday were unsuccessful.

ANTHONY LONETREE