Veteran LA Cop Convicted In Cold Case Rape

LOS ANGELES, CA —A veteran Los Angeles police officer was convicted Thursday of raping a woman while off-duty in 2015.

William Rodriguez, 38, was convicted of a single count of forcible rape, according to the District Attorney's Office. He faces up to eight years in prison when he is sentenced Aug. 10.

Jurors, who deliberated for about a day and a half before reaching their verdict, acquitted Rodriguez of a second forcible rape charge stemming from an alleged attack on a female acquaintance at his home in November 2018.

Authorities said police investigating the 2018 alleged assault entered Rodriguez's DNA into the state's DNA database, resulting in a "cold hit" notification involving an unsolved sexual assault from August 2015, in which a woman was allegedly driven to an unspecified location and raped.

Rodriguez was convicted Thursday for the 2015 assault, but not for the alleged 2018 attack.

"Today, justice has been served for one of the victims of a heinous crime committed by a police officer who was entrusted with protecting and serving our community," District Attorney George Gascón said in a statement.

"While we are disappointed that the defendant was not found guilty on the count of rape on a second victim, we want to commend the bravery of both victims who came forward to report these crimes. We understand that coming forward and testifying in court is not easy, and we appreciate their courage in doing so."

Rodriguez, who has been with the LAPD for more than a decade, most recently with the Valley Traffic Division, was relieved of his police powers when he was arrested in 2019.

City News Service