Former OPD Officer Ordered To Stand Trial In Sex Scandal Case

HAYWARD, CA - A former Oakland police officer was ordered to stand trial today on a felony charge of obstruction of justice for his involvement with a teenage girl who's at the center of a sexual misconduct scandal involving officers from multiple agencies.

Brian Bunton, 41, was also ordered by Alameda County Superior Court Judge Thomas Rogers to stand trial on a misdemeanor prostitution charge for having the girl, who's the daughter of an Oakland police dispatcher,
perform oral sex on him at a hotel near the Oakland airport on March 5, 2016.

The girl, who was so nervous while she was on the witness stand in Bunton's preliminary hearing that she vomited into a garbage can next to her chair, admitted under cross-examination by Bunton's lawyer, Dirk Manoukian, that she never entered into any agreement with Bunton to exchange sex for money or any other favors from the former officer.

Based on her testimony, Manoukian argued that there wasn't any conspiracy and that Bunton, who resigned in March, should only stand trial on a misdemeanor prostitution charge, not a felony conspiracy charge.

But Rogers, who didn't cite any specific evidence, said, "There was an implicit agreement" and the teen, who was 18 at the time of their sexual encounter and is now 19, knew that it would be favorable for her to be
involved with a police officer. Her name is being omitted because she was a sexually exploited teenager. "They both knew what she was getting out of it and what he was getting out of it," Rogers said.

Bunton also was "compromised" by having sex with the girl and could have been blackmailed by her, the judge said.

The girl, who said she began working as a prostitute at the age of 12, testified that after Bunton left the hotel room where they had oral sex he texted her to stay away from International Boulevard in Oakland because
there was going to be an undercover prostitution sting planned on International Boulevard.

She said that a reply text she wrote, "Thank you, I appreciate it, I don't want to go to jail."

But under cross-examination by Manoukian the teen admitted that in a later text Bunton told her that he had lied about the alleged undercover prostitution sting "just to keep you off the streets." In the text, which the girl read aloud in court, Bunton wrote, "You are the daughter of a dispatcher. I thought the least I could do was to
keep you off the streets."

The teen said that several days later after their sexual encounter Bunton texted her to ask if she made as much money as she wanted that weekend. She said she replied that she hadn't made as much money as she wanted and he responded by telling her she needed a better manager.

Rogers said Bunton's text indicates that "in a way he was pimping and helping her like a pimp would." The girl testified that she met Bunton in February 2016 when she was lost in the streets of Oakland and he was on patrol with another officer and arranged for her to get a taxi back to her home in Richmond.

She said they exchanged phone numbers and Bunton stayed in touched with her and agreed to meet her at the Oakland hotel on March 5, 2016. Prosecutor Sabrina Farrell said that instead of arresting the teen to make sure that she got services to get out of the prostitution world, Bunton actually "gave her encouragement to continue to work as a prostitute."

Farrell said that at one point Bunton advised the girl "to show more skin in her online pictures so she could get more business."

Rogers ordered Bunton, who remains out of custody on bail, to return to court on June 5 to have a trial date set. Several other officers from Oakland and other agencies also face criminal charges for their alleged involvement with the girl.

The teen is seeking a total of more than $100 million in damages from multiple law enforcement agencies.

— Bay City News; Image via Shutterstock