As of late Wednesday, four Oakland police officers have been fired and another seven have been suspended without pay for their roles in a sex scandal with a teenaged female. The female, who goes by the name of Celeste Guap, stated she had numerous liaisons with officers from the Oakland and Richmond police departments, the Alameda County Sheriff’s office and a Livermore police officer. Three of the Oakland police officers had sex with her while she was underage. In other words, the teen was trafficked amongst the officers.
Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf apologized to Oaklanders in a press conference, stating:
“I am deeply sorry for the harm that this scandal has caused, particularly to community trust, which for many was already so tenuous,” said Schaaf. “The discipline we have announced today sends a loud and clear message that we will hold our officers to nothing but the highest standards of professionalism and integrity.”
Oakland’s City Administrator Sabrina Landreth detailed the findings of the investigation into the sex trafficking scandal:
“Each individual was found to have committed one or more of the following offenses: attempted sexual assault, engaging in lewd conduct in public assisting in the crime of prostitution, assisting in the evading of arrest for the crime of prostitution, accessing law enforcement databases for personal gain, being untruthful to investigators, failing to report a violation of law or rules by not reporting allegations of a minor having sexual contact with Oakland police officers, and bringing and disrepute to the Oakland Police Department”...
Additionally, seven other officers were suspended without pay. Those officers will also be provided with remedial training for accessing law enforcement databases for personal gain, being untruthful to investigators, failing to report a violation of law or rules by not reporting allegations of a minor having sexual contact with Oakland police officers, and bringing and disrepute to the Oakland Police Department.
Landreth also said counseling and training was ordered for one officer for bringing disrepute to the Oakland Police Department.
Rumblings of the sex trafficking scandal began in the fall of 2015 when an Oakland police officer who had sex with Guap committed suicide, leaving behind a note naming officers who also had sex with the teen. Things boiled to the surface this past June when the East Bay Express published the results of its own investigation into the matter, and Mayor Schaaf fired then-Oakland Police Chief Sean Whent for knowing about the scandal and covering it up.
Oakland says its investigation into the matter is now closed but the story ain’t over yet. Numerous officers from the Richmond Police Department, including two school resource officers, are being investigated also. At least two officers from the San Francisco Police Department are also alleged to have been involved in the sex trafficking of Guap.
As if Bay Area police didn’t have enough to be embarrassed by already.