20 Years For Former FWPD Officer Guilty Of Rape
FORT WORTH (CBSDFW.COM) - A former Fort Worth police officer pleaded guilty to five counts of sexual assault, Wednesday.
Daniel Lopez was sentenced to 20 years in prison for raping five women while on-duty as a Fort Worth officer.
The 34-year-old former law enforcement official was arrested in December of 2010 after a woman accused him of forcing her to perform a sexual act while she was detained.
Detectives uncovered four more offenses during a subsequent police investigation.
After Lopez pled guilty, prosecuting attorney Betty Arvin read impact statements from two of the victims, who were not identified.
One victim, who was assaulted on September 15, 2010, said she couldn't look at police officers the same way anymore.
"It destroyed me and I don't look at myself the same," she said in the statement.
Another victim wrote, "Using your authority to your sick advantage is not right."
During the sentencing Arvin made clear the opinion of the Tarrant County District Attorney's Office.
"It's a terrible crime anytime a person is raped, but when that perpetrator is a police officer that just takes it to another level," she said. "This is a person who is sworn to uphold the law, and not only did he violate the trust of the victims he also violated the trust of the community, and he violated the trust of the other police officers with whom he worked, day in and day out."
Lopez served with the Fort Worth Police Department from 2004 until 2010.
Lopez will have to serve 10 years before he is eligible for parole and will have to register as a sex offender once released. CBS 11 News contacted Lopez' attorney, Jim Lane, but he declined to comment.
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