Former Livermore Officer Pleads No Contest to One Count in Sexual Exploitation Case

LIVERMORE, CA — Former Livermore police Officer Daniel Black pleaded no contest Thursday to one misdemeanor count for involvement with the teenage daughter of an Oakland police dispatcher who's at the center of a sexual misconduct scandal involving officers from multiple agencies. In return for Daniel Black's plea to a single count of performing lewd acts, prosecutors agreed to dismiss the other four misdemeanor counts he faced. Those charges were two counts of engaging in prostitution, a second count of performing lewd acts and one count of giving alcohol to a person under 21.

In approving the plea agreement late today after lengthy discussions in back rooms, Alameda County Superior Court Judge Alison Tucher told Black, 49, that his conviction will be expunged from his record in 15
months if he complies with all of its terms and conditions.

Those include taking an AIDS test, watching an AIDA video, not committing any crimes and staying away from areas in Alameda County that are known prostitution hubs. Tucher scheduled a follow-up hearing on May 9, 2018. Outside court, Black's lawyer, Michael Cardoza, said Black's no contest plea is a deferred entry of judgment, which means that his conviction isn't finalized and he won't have any record if he lives up to the agreement.

"There will be no conviction here," Cardoza said. Black, who could have faced up to two years in the county jail if he'd been convicted of all the charges against him, entered his plea just as prosecutor Sabrina Farrell, Cardoza and Tucher were winding up jury selection in his case. Testimony had been expected to begin today or Friday, but Tucher said on Wednesday that a key witness in the case had a medical emergency that
could force his trial to be delayed.

Tucher and the attorneys in the case didn't say if the important witness was the teenage woman. Black is one of six East Bay police officers who were charged with felonies or misdemeanors in Alameda County as a result of the sexual exploitation scandal involving the teenage girl, who worked as a prostitute and is now seeking a total of more than $100 million in damages from multiple jurisdictions.

The teen, who is now 19, is identified in court papers only as Jane Doe. Four of the officers who've been charged worked for the Oakland Police Department. Alameda County District Attorney Inspector Jim Taranto wrote in a probable cause statement that last April 8 and 13 Black arranged to pick up Jane Doe near her home in his motorhome, taking her to dinner at a Berkeley restaurant on April 8 and to an Albany restaurant on April 13.

Taranto stated that when the conversation at the Berkeley restaurant turned sexual, Black said, "Just to be clear, I'm not paying you, but I will buy you dinner."

Black and the teen later engaged in oral copulation in the motorhome in a parking lot visible from the street, sexual intercourse the next morning at the same location, and Black gave her alcoholic drinks inside
the vehicle, according to prosecutors.

Taranto said Black allegedly paid for their dinner at the Albany restaurant and then parked the motorhome in Berkeley in an industrial area near the waterfront, where the two engaged in oral copulation. Cardoza said outside court that he thinks Farrell agreed to the plea bargain is that it was "a difficult case" for the prosecution.

Cardoza said he thinks it was "absolutely ridiculous" for prosecutors to charge Black with what he described as "prostitution for dinner" and "making love in a motor home."

He also said he thinks prosecutors wouldn't have filed any charges against Black if he weren't a police officer.
But Farrell said the plea bargain "had nothing to do with the strength of our case" but she decided to agree to it because the unnamed key witness had "a very serious medical emergency" on Wednesday and might not
have been available to testify.

Cardoza said Black voluntarily retired from the Livermore Police Department last year after 26 years in the department and now works in the security field. Cardoza said Black theoretically could work as a police officer
again if he lives up to all the terms of his agreement but he said he doesn't know if Black plans to do so.

Black had been free on $14,000 bail but Tucher said his bail is now exonerated. Cardoza said he doesn't think Black's plea agreement will affect the cases against the other police officers who are charged for allegedly
being involved with the teenage woman. He said, "Every case is different."

In one of the other cases, retired Oakland police Sgt. Leroy Johnson, 51, pleaded no contest to one misdemeanor count of failing to report child abuse and was sentenced on Jan. 13 to three years' misdemeanor court probation. Prosecutors said Johnson failed to report suspected child abuse in September 2015 after the teenager told him in a Facebook message that she had engaged in sex with other Oakland officers.

By Bay City News

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