The wide-ranging scandal surfaced when the teen who described herself as a prostitute said she had sex with about 30 law enforcement officials throughout the region.
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Seven current and former police officers from three San Francisco Bay Area counties were charged Friday over a rape scandal that has embroiled more than two dozen officers in seven police departments. The Alameda County District Attorney’s office will not be filing charges against anyone else, O’Malley said.
Guap, meanwhile, was flown to a Florida rehabilitation facility in August and was arrested for allegedly assaulting a guard on Aug. 29.
The sex abuse scandal ignited in September 2015 when the Oakland police department began investigating the death of one of its officers. Some of the encounters happened in exchange for information about planned prostitution raids, she has alleged, and others occurred when she was underage.
Prosecutors plan to indict Officer Brian Bunton on a felony charge of obstructing justice and a misdemeanor charge of engaging in an act of prostitution; Officer Giovani LoVerde on a charge of having oral sex with a minor, a felony; Officer Warit Utappa on misdemeanor charges of accessing law enforcement databases without permission; and Officer Tyrell Smith – who resigned from the department – on four misdemeanor counts of accessing such databases without permission.
Four other Oakland police officers will be prosecuted: Brian Bunton, on charges of felony obstruction of justice and engaging in an act of prostitution; Warit Utappa and Tyrell Smith, who allegedly searched a criminal justice computer system without an authorised goal; and LeRoy Johnson, on charges of failing to report sexual misconduct against a minor. But this is the first time that criminal charges have been suggested against any of the officers. The Contra Costa County District Attorney helped process the application for VCP funds to send Guap out of state, according to a spokesman for the office.
The union said in a prepared statement that it was disappointed by the scandal and assured residents the majority of officers are hardworking and upstanding.
File-This July 8, 201, file photo shows Alameda County district attorney Nancy O’Malley speaking at a news conference at an Oakland, Calif., courthouse.
In March, a federal judge with oversight of the troubled department said he was dissatisfied with the internal affairs investigation and ordered a re-examination of O’Brien’s suicide. At times, she traded sex for protection from arrest or tips about upcoming prostitution stings, Guap said.
No charges have been brought against any officers in San Francisco County and San Joaquin County, where investigations by the press uncovered other possible crimes. She is now in a rehabilitation facility in Florida, where she was sent with the assistance of Richmond officials, who say the move was voluntary. DA says 7 cops will be charged in sex scandal case ” We uphold the rights of victims at the highest level”, Alameda County District Attorney Nancy O’Malley said.
Earlier this week, Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf announced the city will seek to fire four police officers involved in the scandal and suspend seven others without pay.
Seven will serve a range of unpaid suspensions before being allowed to return to duty and another will be required to attend training classes.
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Three Oakland police chiefs resigned in quick succession in June, after news of the scandal involving a sexually exploited teen and police officers emerged in local media.
