SAN DIEGO (CNS/CBS8) - A prosecutor said Monday that additional charges involving more alleged victims are pending against an 18-year veteran police officer who's accused of trying to elicit sexual favors from women during traffic stops in the Gaslamp Quarter.
Officer Anthony Arevalos, 40, is currently facing 10 criminal charges -- including false imprisonment, assault under the color of authority and sexual battery by restraint -- involving three alleged victims.
He would face more than 11 years in prison if convicted as currently charged.
During the officer's arraignment Monday, in which he pleaded not guilty, Deputy District Attorney Sherry Thompson told Judge David Szumowski that she planned to file more charges soon against the defendant involving a fourth woman.
The prosecutor said there could be as many as nine alleged victims. The ages of the current alleged victims range from 20 to 31, Thompson said.
"...while it is still preliminary and early on in the investigation, we have identified the fact that many of these girls appeared to be students .. young women, who he attempts to identify what it is that they think is of value in their personal nature, asking them what they're working on, what they're studying, so that he can identify for them specifically that they do have a lot at stake," Thompson said outside court.
The prosecutor told the judge that Arevalos was on duty during the alleged crimes.
She said Arevalos made a DUI stop on a 31-year-old woman in the Gaslamp on March 8. When she registered above .08 percent on a DUI test, Arevalos asked the woman what she could offer him in exchange for making the charges go away, Thompson alleged.
The woman asked the officer what he wanted, and he said one woman had given him her bra and panties, the prosecutor alleged.
Arevalos told the DUI suspect that they needed to move to a separate location and escorted her to a 7-Eleven restroom, where he locked the door, took her panties, then sexually assaulted her before leaving, Thompson alleged.
The officer stopped a second alleged victim for an expired vehicle registration last Dec. 29. Arevalos told the woman he smelled alcohol and gave her a DUI test, which registered above .05 percent, the prosecutor said.
Because the woman was under 21, Arevalos detained her for being a minor under the influence of alcohol, Thompson said.
When Arevalos asked the woman what she would be willing to do to make the arrest go away, she told him she was willing to sleep in her car and have a friend pick her up, according to the prosecutor.
When that failed to resolve the issue, Arevalos told the woman they could go in a dark corner for 30 minutes or go in the back of his patrol car for 15 minutes, Thompson alleged.
The woman declined, and when another officer arrived, she was given a citation, the prosecutor said.
Thompson alleged that Arevalos sexually assaulted a third woman he stopped on suspicion of DUI last Oct. 22 in the Gaslamp.
During the 90-minute stop, Arevalos stood or crouched in the doorway of the woman's car and asked what she was willing to do to get out of the DUI, Thompson alleged.
The woman refused to take a DUI test, and Arevalos began poking her breast with his finger, the prosecutor alleged.
Arevalos allegedly put his hands down the woman's pants and she showed him her breasts at his request before he called her a cab, Thompson said.
Authorities have also reopened an investigation into a similar complaint against Arevalos made by a woman in February 2010, Thompson said.
Arevalos was placed on unpaid suspension while the criminal case against him is investigated, authorities said.
Defense attorney Philip Gagnon said the case was short on facts and police enlisted the media's help to get women to come forward when they realized their case was weak.
Arevalos -- who had posted $95,000 bail -- had his bail increased to $200,000 and was taken back into custody. Late Monday night, Arevalos posted bond once again, and walked out of jail.
In 1997, the District Attorney's Office cleared Arevalos in the wounding of Laura Pinon, 18, of San Ysidro, who pointed a fake gun that looked like an Uzi at some passing cars, including police.
