Prosecutors will charge 7 Bay Area officers in sex scandal
OAKLAND, Calif. -- Prosecutors said Friday they will charge seven current and former San Francisco Bay Area law enforcement officers in a sexual misconduct scandal involving a teenager.
The wide-ranging scandal surfaced when a teenage girl who described herself as a prostitute said she had sex with about 30 law enforcement officials in Oakland and elsewhere in the region.
The officers will be charged with a range of felonies and misdemeanors, including engaging in prostitution, oral copulation with a minor, engaging in lewd acts and obstruction of justice, Alameda County District Attorney Nancy O’Malley said at a news conference.
Those facing charges include a former Livermore police officer, five former and current Oakland police officers and one former Contra Costa County sheriff’s deputy, reports CBS San Francisco.
The now 19-year-old said she had sex with four officers before she turned 18 and sometimes traded sex for protection from arrest or tips about planned prostitution stings.
The Associated Press generally doesn’t identify people who say they are victims of sex crimes.
Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf said disciplinary action has begun against a dozen officers, including dismissal proceedings against four.
Seven will serve a range of unpaid suspensions before being allowed to return to duty and another will be required to attend training classes.
The Oakland department previously said two officers implicated in the scandal had resigned and another killed himself last year.
The DA also said there was “no evidence” the teen ever actually met Oakland police officer Brendan O’Brien, whose suicide triggered the sex crime investigation, reports CBS San Francisco.
O’Malley also said there was insufficient evidence to substantiate some of what the teen claimed, so at least four officers implicated in the investigation will not be charged and will remain unnamed, the station reports.
The department cycled through three chiefs in 10 days in June after the allegations were first reported in the media.
Six Richmond, Calif., police officers and personnel at other law enforcement agencies have also been implicated.
A Livermore officer who had been on administrative leave resigned Thursday after seeing the results of his department’s investigation.