Yahoo News Police officer charged with fondling dead woman’s breasts
A police officer has been charged with fondling a dead woman’s breasts after his own body-worn camera caught him in the alleged act.
David Rojas, of the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) faces one felony charge of having sexual contact with human remains without authority.
The Los Angeles district attorney’s office said in a statement: “On 20 October, Rojas and his partner responded to a call where a woman had died.
“While he was alone in the room, the defendant allegedly touched the woman’s breast.
“If convicted as charged, Rojas faces a possible maximum sentence of three years in state prison.
“The case remains under investigation by the LAPD’s internal affairs division.”
The Associated Press reported that 27-year-old Mr Rojas was arrested after police officials, conducting a random inspection of his body camera, uncovered footage he had captured accidentally.
Though Mr Rojas had switched off the camera, he was caught on video after reactivating it because the device has a two-minute recording buffer.
Mr Rojas was released on a $20,000 (£15,000) bond, the district attorney’s office said.
The Los Angeles Police Protective League, a union, said in a statement that it hoped the charge would “bring some solace to the deceased woman’s family during their time of grieving”.
It would not defend Mr Rojas, it said, adding: “His alleged behaviour is abhorrent and an affront to every law enforcement professional working for the LAPD.”
