Prosecutors to charge 7 Bay Area officers in sex-abuse scandal

OAKLAND - Prosecutors said Friday they will charge seven current and former San Francisco Bay Area officers in a sexual misconduct scandal involving a teenager.

The wide-ranging scandal surfaced when a teenage girl who described herself as a prostitute said she had sex with about 30 law enforcement officials in Oakland and elsewhere in the region.

Alameda County District Attorney Nancy O'Malley said she was waiting to formally file charges until the teen could be returned to California from Florida, where she has been jailed in an assault case.

The prosecutor said she needs the teen to provide testimony in the case.

O'Malley said the officers who will be charged are former Contra Costa sheriff's Deputy Ricardo Perez; former Livermore police Officer Dan Black; Oakland police Officers Brian Bunton, Giovani LoVerde and Warit Utappa; and former Oakland police Officers Tyrell Smith and Leroy Johnson.

The officers will be charged with a range of felonies and misdemeanors, O'Malley said.

The teen, now 19, said she had sex with four officers before she turned 18 and sometimes traded sex for protection from arrest or tips about planned prostitution stings.

The Associated Press generally doesn't identify people who say they are victims of sex crimes.

O'Malley said she found much of the conduct "morally reprehensible" but noted the actions of the officers on social media did not violate criminal statutes.

Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf previously said disciplinary action has begun against a dozen officers, including dismissal proceedings against four.

Seven will serve a range of unpaid suspensions before being allowed to return to duty and another will be required to attend training classes.

The Oakland department previously said two officers implicated in the scandal had resigned and another killed himself last year.

The department cycled through three chiefs in 10 days in June after the allegations were first reported in the media.

Six Richmond police officers and personnel at other law enforcement agencies have also been implicated.

A Livermore officer who had been on administrative leave resigned Thursday after seeing the results of his department's investigation.

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This story has been corrected to say charges will be filed against seven officers, not have been filed.