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LAPD Sexual Assault Investigation Leads to Rape Charges for a 10-Year Department Veteran

A LAPD sexual assault investigation last year uncovered a link to another attack three years earlier, leading to the 33-year-old officer's arrest

A Los Angeles Police Department officer has been charged with rape after a department investigation into a sexual assault last year linked him to a sexual assault three years earlier. 

The November 2018 investigation involving 33-year-old Officer William Rodriguez, a 10-year LAPD veteran, stemmed from a reported sexual assault at his home involving a female acquaintance. That probe uncovered a second, unsolved sexual assault in August 2015 after information was entered into a statewide DNA database, police said.

Rodriguez was arrested Tuesday and charged with two counts of forcible rape with a special allegation of multiple victims. It was not immediately clear whether Rodriguez has an attorney. 

"When one of our own breaks the trust of the people we are sworn to protect and to serve, it tarnishes the badge we all wear proudly on our chests," Chief Michel Moore said in a statement. "This arrest also reflects our commitment to pursue every lead no matter where the investigation takes us."

Rodriguez was identified as the suspect through the Combined DNA Index System, the LAPD said in a statement. The system has searchable DNA profiles obtained from crime scene evidence. 

When his DNA was entered into the statewide database, it produced a cold hit notification, police said. A cold hit means one or more connections are made in the DNA database between an individual and a crime scene in the absence of a current investigative lead.

The 2015 case also involved a female victim who was assaulted under circumstances similar to last year's attack, according to the district attorney's office.

Rodriguez has been relieved of his police powers, the LAPD statement said. He was most recently a member of the department's Valley Traffic Division.

The crimes occurred while he was off-duty, the LAPD said. 

Anyone with information was asked to called detectives at 213-486-6910.

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