The San Diego County District Attorney's office is expected to file more charges Friday against a former San Diego police officer accused of groping women and seeking sexual favors from them during traffic stops.
Former San Diego police officer Anthony Arevalos, 40, is accused of trying to elicit sexual favors from women during separate traffic stops between 2009 and 2011.
Prosecutors say the new charges against Arevalos will bring the number of alleged victims from six to eight.
Arevalos pleaded not guilty to the previous charges.
He is currently charged with 18 counts, including false imprisonment, assault under the color of authority, sexual battery by restraint and receiving a bribe.
The most recent incident took place March 8 when Arevalos, who was assigned to the Traffic Division at the time, made a DUI stop on a 31-year- old woman in the Gaslamp on March 8. When the woman registered above .08 percent on a DUI test, Arevalos asked her what she could offer him in exchange for making the charges go away, Deputy District Attorney Sherry Thompson alleged.
Arevalos was arrested March 11 and charged in that incident. Soon after, investigators released his photo asking for other potential victims to come forward.
Arevalos faces three sexual battery charges and three charges of assault under the color of authority for stops he made on Jan. 10, 2010 in the Gaslamp, at SDPD headquarters and Las Colinas.
A separate victim said Arevalos pulled her over in the Gaslamp on Sept. 28, 2009. There was no alleged sexual contact during this stop but Arevalos has been charged with receiving a bribe in connection with a traffic stop of a female driver.
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“It’s our position that once the word was out there that was a victim complaining that other people may have mischaracterized his efforts and have come forward and made these complaints that have now been incorporated in the complaint,” Arevalos’ defense attorney Jan Ronis said in May after a court appearance.
Arevalos has been relieved of his badge and weapon and suspended without pay. The 18-year veteran of the San Diego Police Department has been free on bail.
