Texas – A 15-year veteran of the Bexar County Sheriff’s Office was arrested in connection with a 2016 sexual assault case, officials said Tuesday.
Sheriff’s Deputy Leonard Lopez, 47, turned himself in and was charged with sexual assault of a woman, Sheriff Javier Salazar said during a news conference. Lopez relinquished his gun and badge at the Sheriff’s Office.
Salazar said Lopez and the woman, in her mid-20s, knew each other and the alleged assault occurred in September 2016 while Lopez was off duty. Last May, the woman approached the San Antonio Police Department with allegations about Lopez.
“This conduct is not indicative in any way of the conduct we expect of a Bexar County sheriff’s deputy,” Salazar said. “You can rest assured we are going to do everything in our power to handle this case as efficiently as we can.”
Lopez was a Sheriff’s Office spokesman from March 2017 through May, when he was transferred to the sheriff’s training academy for reasons unrelated to the allegations, Salazar said. The Sheriff’s Office was made aware of the allegations on May 20 and placed Lopez on administrative duty.
“He has had no public contact since the day that we found out about it,” Salazar said.
The Sheriff’s Office’s internal affairs unit has started an administrative case against Lopez, and the public integrity unit has been assisting SAPD with its investigation, Salazar said.
On Tuesday, Lopez was placed on administrative leave and will receive pay for the next 10 days.
“After that point, the pay runs out and (Lopez) is not allowed to return,” Salazar said.
Lopez is the third deputy this month to be arrested. Last week, former deputy Michael Gomez, 30, and deputy Joseph Anthony Hernandez, 26, were each indicted on a charge of official oppression. The two allegedly assaulted an inmate who was on the ground and being brought back into compliance in June 2017.