After the fact, Vasquez allegedly ‘distributed, shared and offensively discussed’ the video ‘with at least one other law enforcement officer’ who didn’t report it, the East Bay Times said. — Photo by Gilles Lambert on Unsplash
A Bay Area woman is suing a former Pinole police officer and the city’s police department after he allegedly filmed the two of them having sex without her permission, the East Bay Times reported.
The former officer, 25-year-old Anthony Luciano Vasquez, was first charged by the Contra Costa County District Attorney’s Office in September 2021 with felony eavesdropping and a misdemeanor tied to the “unlawful” video recording, said the Contra Costa County District Attorney’s Office and court documents.
“Vasquez recorded the victim without her consent,” the office wrote on Facebook. “The defendant had a hidden camera in his bedroom at his home in Hercules that was used for this recording.”
Vasquez resigned from the department in June 2021 while the recording was being investigated, the Associated Press reported.
Just before the incident, Vasquez reportedly texted with a 17-person group called “The Mafia” who asked when he’d have sex with the woman. “Send a video,” one person reportedly said. After the fact, Vasquez allegedly “distributed, shared and offensively discussed” the video “with at least one other law enforcement officer” who didn’t report it, the East Bay Times said.
“This type of conduct will not be tolerated, which is why we took immediate action as soon as we learned of the situation,” said Pinole police Chief Neil Gang in 2021. “I, as well as this entire department, deeply care about the community and our duty to protect and serve.”
However, the suit alleges that the city’s police department didn’t intervene even though supervisors “were aware, or reasonably should have been aware that its employees were engaging in such unlawful conduct”, the East Bay Times reported.
Vasquez is due for a preliminary hearing in December, court records show.
Pinole Police Department representatives did not immediately respond to SFGate’s requests for comment. – SFGate, San Francisco/Tribune News Service
