Ex-California police sergeant, one-time employee of the month, hit with multiple sexual assault charges

A former California police sergeant has been charged with more than a dozen counts of sexual assault and other crimes after misconduct allegations by multiple people spurred an internal affairs investigation at the Stockton Police Department.

Former Stockton Police Sgt. Nicholas Bloed was arrested Wednesday morning and charged with 15 counts, including assault while serving as an officer, forcible oral copulation, the pursuit of bribes and prostitution. The San Joaquin County District Attorney's Office filed the charges with the Superior Court of the State of California.

"Officers have the ability to take your liberty, and when they threaten to use that power to force vulnerable victims to cooperate for their own devious purposes, it castes a long shadow over the entire profession," said Tori Verber Salazar, the county's district attorney, in a statement Thursday.

Bloed was at the San Joaquin County Jail as of Thursday. His next scheduled court date is Monday. His bail was set at $4 million, reports CBS Sacramento's Steve Large.

The 14-year veteran of the Stockton Police Department had just been promoted to sergeant in February, Large says, adding that Bloed was named employee of the month in 2014, with the police department boasting that he'd helped train 145 new officers.

Bloed, who graduated from the Ray Simon Police Academy in 2002, was hired by the Stockton Police Department in 2008 after serving as an officer in Modesto, California. He's worked as a patrol officer, motor officer and field training officer.  

Bloed was placed on administrative leave in May and hasn't been working for the police department since last month, said department spokesman Joe Silva. The department wouldn't disclose results of its investigation or whether he was fired. Silva declined to comment on Bloed's arrest since he's no longer with the department.

According to CBS Sacramento's Large, the criminal complaint came after three women filed a lawsuit asserting that Bloed forced them into various sex acts while on duty.

In one incident, he allegedly forced himself on a woman in a room at a Stockton Motel 6.

A court document read, in part: "Sergeant Bloed stripped down to his socks and a blue Stockton Police Department undershirt. The undershirt had a collar on it with 'SPD' printed in white letters. He put his gun belt and radio on the desk, but did not turn the radio off."

Allen Sawyer, a lawyer representing Bloed, told The Associated Press his client resigned from the police department after making a "lapse in judgement" by engaging in what Bloed contends was consensual sexual activity with people he met through his role as an officer.

"It may have been a horrible lapse of judgment. But it was not the criminal act that you see now," Sawyer said of the charges.  

He said Bloed resigned from the department after going through an internal investigation.

"We're very disappointed with the way this case has been brought forward," Large quotes Sawyer as saying. "Whether or not what acts occurred while he was on duty is yet to be determined. We will be exploring that."

The AP says at least three women made sexual misconduct claims against Bloed this spring alleging he abused his power as an officer to take advantage of them. In one case, a woman is alleging Bloed pulled her vehicle over, later made her pose for photographs and eventually had unprotected sexual intercourse with her. The other two women also allege he raped them while he was still with the police department, said Dan Gilleon, a lawyer representing the three women.

The AP generally doesn't name people who say they've been sexually assaulted unless they come forward publicly.

Gilleon said he hadn't seen the charging document as of Thursday morning and therefore couldn't confirm whether any of the confidential victims mentioned refer to his clients. The document mentions eight victims of the various crimes Bloed is being charged with.

It wasn't clear  whether the three women Large gave details on are the same three the AP refers to.

Gilleon described the case as a "system-wide failure" by the police department. He said if any officials within the police department are found to have ignored knowledge of accusations against Bloed, they should be fired.

Sexual misconduct is one of the most prevalent complaints against law enforcement officials. In a 2015 investigation, the Associated Press discovered that about 1,000 officers lost their licenses in a six-year period for various sex crimes or sexual misconduct, including rape, possession of child pornography and having on-duty intercourse.

In a statement Wednesday, the Stockton Police Officers Association said the group was "extremely disappointed" to hear about Bloed's arrest.

"The charges and allegations against him, if proven true, are abhorrent and reprehensible," the group said. "These accusations in no way reflect the high standards and values of this association and the profession of law enforcement."