The city of San Diego has reached a $50,000 settlement with a woman who claims former San Diego Police Officer Anthony Arevalos molested her as a teenager.
The alleged victim, the 14th to receive a settlement over Arevalos’ actions, says in 1996 or 1997, Arevalos stopped her at the San Ysidro border crossing and accused her of being a truant, according to the claim she filed against the city on Sept. 5.
She says Arevalos took her to a trailer, “where he made me pull my breast out and he also pulled my breast out.”
In the claim, the woman writes that the officer made her take off her pants and underwear as he squatted down and touched her vagina. He told her he was looking for tattoos or piercings, she says.
The woman now suffers from panic attacks and is afraid of police because of the event that she says took her childhood, according to the damages claim.
Just one week after the alleged victim filed a claim, the city’s risk management adjusters negotiated the $50,000 settlement on Sept. 12. The risk management department has settlement authority of up to $50,000 with the approval of the city’s chief financial officer, according to Chief Deputy City Attorney for Communications Mike Giorgino.
However, the settlement makes it clear that the city denies all of the woman’s accusations. By accepting the money, the woman releases the city of all liability.
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These allegations are the earliest against Arevalos, who was sentenced to more than eight years in prison for preying on women in the Gaslamp Quarter from 2009 to 2011.
Arevalos was convicted in 2011 on multiple felony counts of sexual battery, assault and asking for bribes while in uniform.
In total, the 14 settlements have cost the city more than $8 million.
Two weeks after reaching a settlement with the 14th alleged victim, the city agreed to pay $5.9 million to the main plaintiff in the case: “Jane Doe.”
Most of that amount will be paid by insurance carriers, while $200,000 will come from the city’s coffers, according to City Attorney Jan Goldsmith.
Since prosecution against Arevalos began, the SDPD has implemented new policies to avoid similar corruption.
It now requires all officers to report police misconduct, and more than 150 patrol officers now wear body cameras to track each interaction. By the end of next year, the department hopes to have the cameras on all officers.
The SDPD also became the center of a Department of Justice audit after allegations arose against former SDPD Officer Christopher Hays, who was later sentenced for assault, battery and illegal detainment on the job.
