4 Oakland Officers Face Termination, 8 Others Disciplined in Sexual Exploitation Scandal

OAKLAND, CA — Four Oakland police officers face termination and eight others will be disciplined in connection with a sexual exploitation scandal that has rocked the Police Department and multiple other law enforcement agencies in the region, Mayor Libby Schaaf announced Wednesday.

Officers were accused of the sexual exploitation of a young woman who goes by the moniker Celeste Guap and was allegedly underage during some of the encounters. City Administrator Sabrina Landreth said the four officers who the city will seek to terminate, whose names are not being released pending the completion of the discipline and appeal process, are accused of various offenses in the case related to Guap.

The offenses include attempted sexual assault, lewd conduct in public, assisting in the crime of prostitution, assisting in evading arrest, and being untruthful to investigators, Landreth said.

She said seven other officers will be suspended without pay and will be given remedial training for failing to report allegations of a minor having sexual contact with officers and using police databases for personal
gain.

A 12th officer will undergo counseling and training for bringing disrepute to the Police Department, Landreth said. Schaaf said the action taken by the city "sends a loud and clear message that we hold our officers to nothing but the highest standards of professionalism and integrity."

She said the changes being undertaken by the Police Department include increasing officer awareness of sexual exploitation and how to help victims escape such abuse, as well as the tightening of officers' use of
police databases and additional training on social media practices.

The mayor thanked the public for their patience during the investigation and said "to victims of sexual exploitation -- we see you, we hear you, and we are here to help you."

Guap was arrested last week in Martin County, Florida, where she allegedly bit a security guard at a drug rehabilitation facility. Schaaf addressed allegations that the Richmond Police Department paid to send Guap across the country, saying "we're not happy about this" and that Oakland officials made multiple offers to Guap to seek help that was locally based.

Schaaf said District Attorney Nancy O'Malley is still completing her criminal investigation into the case and said "we have reason to believe she will be making determinations relatively soon."

Earlier today, two Bay Area civil rights attorneys said they had been hired to represent Guap and have set up a trust fund and are seeking donations for her legal and medical care.

Oakland-based attorney Pamela Price wrote on her law firm's website that she and Sausalito-based attorney Charles Bonner are working on the case.

Price said Guap was allegedly withdrawing from heroin at the rehab facility but after allegedly biting a guard, she was taken to jail on suspicion of felony aggravated battery. Price addressed the allegations that Richmond police or some other law enforcement agency paid to send her to Florida and said Richmond police
have denied any involvement in sending Guap there.

"She has no family there or any ties to Florida, or any reason to be there, other than someone in a Bay Area law enforcement agency thought it would be a good idea for her to go there," Price wrote.

The trust fund set up by the attorneys can be found online.

By Bay City News

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