Los Angeles police officer William Rodriguez, 33, a 10-year veteran of the department, was apprehended by detectives with the LAPD Robbery-Homicide Division on July 16. Rodriguez is charged with two counts of forcible rape.
Detectives began to investigate Rodriguez after receiving a report that he had raped an acquaintance in his home on Nov. 1 of last year ABC 7 News reports.
During the investigation, they got a DNA “cold hit” on Rodriguez using the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS), which linked him to a second sexual assault which had occurred in August of 2015. That case had been unsolved, but when Rodriguez’s DNA was entered into the CODIS database, it produced the cold hit, prosecutors say.
Both sexual assaults occurred while he was off-duty, police disclosed. Rodriguez has since been placed on administrative leave from the department.
LAPD Chief Michel Moore said the following in a statement:
“When one of our own breaks the trust of the people we are sworn to protect and to serve, it tarnishes the badge we all wear proudly on our chests. This arrest also reflects our commitment to pursue every lead no matter where the investigation takes us.”
Rodriguez is being held on $1.2 million bail and is due back in court on July 30. If convicted as charged, he faces a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison.
