$25M Settlement Reached For 3 Women Assaulted By San Mateo Officer

SAN MATEO, CA — San Mateo has reached a $25 million settlement with three women who were sexually assaulted by former police officer Noah Winchester while he was on duty and in uniform, according to the women's attorneys.

The Emanuel Law Group announced the settlement Wednesday, crediting a 2022 law that expanded the statute of limitations to 10 years for survivors of sexual assault by police officers. An ELG attorney helped draft the bill, which was introduced by Assemblymember Buffy Wicks (D-Berkeley).

Winchester was convicted in 2020 of raping five women while working as a police officer between 2013 and 2015 and sentenced to 81 years in prison.

The women's attorneys argued the San Mateo Police Department ignored "a myriad of red flags" in hiring Winchester, citing police reports identifying him as a suspect in at least two sexual assaults while working as a police officer in Los Rios.

"It is astonishing that the hiring team at the San Mateo Police Department issued this predator a badge and a gun, putting the safety and security of the entire community at risk," said Todd Emanuel, a founding partner of ELG. "SMPD'd gross negligence has caused a lifetime of trauma for these women, and possibly others."

Assembly Bill 1455's passage allowed for the suit to be filed, and the firm said it had several other cases pending including one related to the sexual assaults reported in Los Rios.