A sex crimes detective for the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Office was sentenced to three years in state prison for tying up and sexually assaulting a 15-year-old girl he met as part of his job.
Neil David Kimball, 46, was supposed to be investigating the case of the victim.
But after raping her instead, he attempted to intimidate her into not reporting it.
Warning signs existed in 2013 when another victim made a sexual assault claim against him for inappropriate comments towards another rape victim whose case he was supposed to be investigating.
Those complaints were investigated by internal affairs.
But the allegations were found to be unsubstantiated and detective Kimball was never charged by his fellow officers.
In yet another case, a female witness told the sheriff’s department in February 2009 that Kimball grabbed her by the hand to make her touch his genitals several months before while on duty, according to a memo from the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office.
“If there was a hint, a hint, of any type of sexual harassment or abuse, even if you may not have the proof, why are you promoting that person to the sex-crimes unit?” Chair of the Sheriff Civilian Oversight Commission Patti Giggans said.
In July, Kimball pleaded guilty to a lewd act with a child and unlawful sexual intercourse as part of a plea deal.
Kimball was ordered to never contact the victim as well as pay her $50,000 for pain and suffering as part of his sentence.
He will also have to register as a sex offender.
Kimball has been on paid leave since a criminal investigation began against him in 2017 after a concerned member of the public launched a complaint with authorities.
The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department did not have updated information on Kimball’s employment status on Thursday, according to KTLA.
