This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/mar/23/kern-county-california-corrections-officer-acquitted-sexual-assault
The article has changed 3 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| Kern County correction officer acquitted over alleged sexual assault of 17-year-old | Kern County correction officer acquitted over alleged sexual assault of 17-year-old |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| A juvenile corrections officer in Kern County, California, has been acquitted of charges relating to the alleged sexual assault of a 17-year-old girl detained in the county’s James G Bowles Juvenile Hall detention facility. | A juvenile corrections officer in Kern County, California, has been acquitted of charges relating to the alleged sexual assault of a 17-year-old girl detained in the county’s James G Bowles Juvenile Hall detention facility. |
| Corrections officer Cesar Navejar faced four criminal charges, including sexual battery and child molestation, following allegations made by the teenager that the officer had touched her inappropriately a number of times leading to a sexual assault in September 2014. | Corrections officer Cesar Navejar faced four criminal charges, including sexual battery and child molestation, following allegations made by the teenager that the officer had touched her inappropriately a number of times leading to a sexual assault in September 2014. |
| The corrections officer was acquitted on all four counts earlier this month. At a later hearing, on 14 March, a judge declined Navejar’s petition to find him factually innocent and have his arrest record sealed, according to the Bakersfield Californian, who reported the case from court. | |
| Kern County was identified by the Guardian as the county in the US with the highest rate of officer-involved fatalities in 2015. A five-part series uncovered serious trends in police malpractice. Navejar’s case was mentioned in part three of the series, which investigated a number of sexual assaults carried out by law enforcement officers in the county and uncovered a series of underground cash payments made to victims of sexual abuse at the hands of officers. | |
| Related: The County: sexual assault and the price of silence | |
| A civil case against Navejar, brought by the 17-year-old, remains active. Another Juvenile Hall corrections officer, George Anderson, is also facing civil charges, over allegations he sexually assaulted a minor in January 2015. | A civil case against Navejar, brought by the 17-year-old, remains active. Another Juvenile Hall corrections officer, George Anderson, is also facing civil charges, over allegations he sexually assaulted a minor in January 2015. |
| A spokesman for Kern County probation confirmed that both Navejar and Anderson remain on paid administrative leave. | A spokesman for Kern County probation confirmed that both Navejar and Anderson remain on paid administrative leave. |