LAPD officers investigated over claims they forced women to have sex [View all]

[Judi Lynn]

Source: Guardian

LAPD officers investigated over claims they forced women to have sex

Luis Valenzuela and James Nichols of Hollywood division are accused of targeting at least four women

Rory Carroll in Los Angeles
guardian.co.uk, Friday 4 January 2013 13.31 EST

Two Los Angeles police officers are under investigation for allegedly using blackmail and intimidation to force women to have sex with them while on duty.

Luis Valenzuela and James Nichols, veteran LAPD officers in the Hollywood division, are accused of targeting at least four women, in some cases taking them into an unmarked car to secluded areas. The accusations, if confirmed, will taint the image of a force that has shed much of its reputation for thuggery since the Rodney King riots of 1992.

The LAPD chief, Charlie Beck, said on Thursday that he was saddened by the allegations and that investigations were continuing. "If they are true, it would be horrific," he said.

Detectives from the department's internal affairs unit suspect the officers preyed on women whom they had arrested previously or who worked for them as informants, according to a search warrant reviewed by the Los Angeles Times. The pair lured victims into their car and used the threat of jail to coerce sex, the warrant alleges. Four women have made independent accusations.


Read more: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/jan/04/lapd-officers-investigated-forcing-women-sex