City to Pay 1 of 4 Women Accusing LAPD Officers of Sexual Assault

LOS ANGELES, CA The Los Angeles City Council has approved a $750,000 settlement for a woman who said she was sexually assaulted by a Los Angeles police officer in the back of his car while his partner acted as a lookout.

The plaintiff is among at least four women who have accused the two officers of coercing them into sexual acts, according to court documents cited by the Los Angeles Times. The two officers, Luis Valenzuela and his partner, James C. Nichols, were charged earlier this year with raping and sexually assaulting several women while on duty.

County prosecutors allege that the two men preyed on women together and alone from late 2008 to 2011, abusing some in the back seat of their unmarked police car and threatening their victims with arrest if they did not do as they said, The Times reported. Both men have pleaded not guilty to the criminal charges. If convicted, they could each be sentenced to up to life in prison.

Capt. Andrew Neiman, an LAPD spokesman, said both men have been relieved of duty without pay, barring them from acting as peace officers. Neither has been terminated, which would happen after the criminal case has been resolved. Valenzuela and Nichols were placed on unpaid leave more than two years ago.

The woman who brought the lawsuit said that in September 2009, Valenzuela and Nichols ordered her into their car as she was walking her dog, then drove the car to a secluded location where Valenzuela sexually assaulted her while Nichols kept a lookout in the front seat. The $750,000 settlement was approved by the City Council Wednesday.

City News Service