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2 LAPD Officers Charged with Sexually Assaulting Women While on Duty

HeadlineFeb 18, 2016

Two Los Angeles police officers have been charged with forcible rape and sexual assault of four women. Prosecutors say the attacks primarily occurred while the two officers, James Christopher Nichols and Luis Gustavo Valenzuela, were on duty. The four women had been arrested by the officers for drug-related crimes. The Los Angeles Police Department has been aware the officers may have been sexually assaulting women for nearly three years. Back in 2013, LAPD detectives sought a warrant to confiscate the men’s computers and phones. The warrant alleged that the officers repeatedly threatened women with jail in order to get them to enter an unmarked car the two drove while on duty. The warrant went on to accuse the two officers of driving the women to a secluded area, where they would demand sex. The Los Angeles Times wrote about these allegations against the two officers in 2013, yet it wasn’t until Tuesday that charges were filed against the two officers.

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