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A California police officer pleaded guilty on Friday to sexual assault during a traffic stop, according to published reports.
Feliciano Sanchez, 34, formerly with the Bell Police Department in southern California, admitted that after pulling over a woman in May, 2007, he drove her to a parking lot, put his hand on his firearm and forced her to perform oral sex on him.
The woman reportedly did not have her driver’s license, so Sanchez said her vehicle would be towed. He then offered to drive her to her workplace, but instead took his victim to an unseen location.
“Sanchez faces a maximum sentence of 10 years imprisonment and a fine of $250,000,” noted a press release from the attorney general’s office. “A sentencing hearing has been set for November 18, 2009.”
“Law enforcement officers have a duty to protect the safety of all citizens, and citizens have the right to expect officers to help keep them from harm’s way,” said Assistant Attorney General King in an advisory. “Officers who abuse their powers in cases such as this not only violate the law, they violate the public trust. The Justice Department will continue to vigorously investigate and prosecute those who abuse their power.”
“Officer Sanchez brutalized a person he had sworn to serve,” said United States Attorney Thomas P. O’Brien in a statement published by The San Gabriel Valley Tribune. “As a result of his criminal conduct, Mr. Sanchez now faces a substantial amount of time in federal prison. His conduct eroded public confidence in law enforcement and cast a pall over his former colleagues who obey the law, proudly working to preserve public safety.”
“A federal grand jury in Los Angeles indicted Sanchez last year on one count each of deprivation of rights under color of law and carrying a firearm during a crime of violence. But jurors could not reach a unanimous verdict, said Thom Mrozek, a spokesman for the U.S. attorney’s office,” reported The Los Angeles Times. “Since then, prosecutors have received more evidence against Sanchez and would have moved to try him again if he had not pleaded guilty, Mrozek said.”
“The case was investigated by agents from the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office,” noted The Contra-Costa Times.
Filed under: Civil Liberties, Prison Industrial Complex | Tagged: Bell Police Department, Feliciano Sanchez, Thom Mrozek, Thomas P. O’Brien
