SAN ANTONIO – Officer J. Neal with the San Antonio Police Department has been charged with sexual assault. Reports state that he was on-duty when he began following a teenage girl for several blocks before finally stopping her.
The girl says Officer Neal used the excuse that “her car was stolen.” He then did a forcible “pat down.” She pleaded for a female officer, but he continued. Then he handcuffed her and forced her to the back of his squad car where she was groped, assaulted, and raped, according to reports.
The girl reported the rape immediately. It turns out that this is the third time Officer Neal has been accused of sexual “misconduct.”
Officer Neal was taken into custody on Saturday. He has since been released.
Police Chief William McManus told the San Antonio Express-News, “I am at a loss for words. I am outraged. This is a punch in the eye to the police department.”
But this case may not come as a surprise to Americans, given that the reports of police committing sexual assault are two times the amount of reports in the general population.
UPDATE:
The rape victim has spoken out. Via KSAT:
The woman, who asked to remain anonymous, said Neal made good on a threat by showing up at her home after the alleged attack.
“He warned me. He told me that if I did tell anybody, he would look for me because he has my address,” she said.
Sandra Gutierrez, a spokeswoman with SAPD, confirmed that officers were called back to the woman’s home after 9 p.m. Friday when a man named “Jack” came to her door, looking for her.
Gutierrez said the alleged victim has since obtained a protective order for herself and her young son.
“I hurt inside. I have to deal with this every day,” the woman said.
The woman filed her original report with SAPD Friday morning, saying that Neal, an 11-year veteran with SAPD, had raped her while on duty.
An arrest warrant affidavit stated that she told detectives that Neal, whom she did not know, began following her in his patrol car as she drove to a friend’s South Side home around 2 a.m.
In the affidavit, she said she pulled over on Betty Street, and Neal stopped behind her, with his lights on, at first.
The woman said during the traffic stop, the officer fondled her under her clothing, then handcuffed and had sex with her, the affidavit stated.
“It was ugly. I don’t want no one to have to ever go through it — especially someone young, like me,” she said. “I thought (officers) were supposed to protect and serve, and make sure of our safety.”
The woman said to make matters worse, she was attacked while she is four months pregnant.