Ex-Rohnert Park Cop Pleads No Contest To Charges Of Attempted Sex With Minor

SONOMA COUNTY, CA -- A former Rohnert Park Department of Public Safety officer has pleaded no contest to attempting to have sex with a girl and sending harmful texts to her.

Garrett James Piland, 33, of Santa Rosa, entered the plea in Sonoma County Superior Court on May 12 and is expected to be sentenced June 28 to 180 days in Sonoma County Jail and three years' probation, according to the Sonoma County District Attorney's Office.

The offenses in 2016 involved two 17-year-old girls who were in an explorer programs for youth 15 to 21 years old who were considering a career as a firefighter or police officer, prosecutors said.

Piland met the girls while they were in the explorer program but did not oversee the program or supervise either victim, according to the district attorney's office.

One of the girls notified the Rohnert Park Department of Public Safety, and after the Sonoma County Sheriff's Office began investigating the allegations in October, another victim was identified.

Piland was arrested Nov. 3 and he was charged on Jan. 9. He pleaded not guilty on March 28 but last week pleaded no contest to felony attempted sexual intercourse with a minor and a misdemeanor count of sending
harmful matter to a minor.

Two misdemeanor charges of annoying or molesting a victim under age 18 and two misdemeanor charges of sexual battery of a minor are pending and are expected to be dismissed at sentencing, according to the DA's office.

Bay City News contributed to this report/Image via Shutterstock