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Nov 11, 2022
A former Stockton, California, police officer has been arrested and charged with more than a dozen counts of sexual assault in addition to other crimes, according to a San Diego Union-Tribune report.
An internal affairs investigation conducted by the Stockton Police Department uncovered a number of misconduct allegations made by at least three women.
Former Stockton Police Sergeant Nicholas Bloed, a 14-year veteran of the department, was charged with 15 counts. Some of the charges against Bloed include:
The San Joaquin County District Attorney’s Office reportedly filed the charges with the Superior Court of the State of California. Bloed’s bail was set at $4 million. As of Thursday, the former sergeant was reportedly being held at the San Joaquin County Jail. Bloed’s next court date is scheduled for Monday.
“The San Joaquin County District Attorney’s Office filed charges upon receipt of finalized investigative reports from the Stockton Police Department, but have been working collaboratively with Stockton Police Department to detail the alleged criminal activity,” the DA’s office said in a news release.
“Officers have the ability to take your liberty, and when they threaten to use that power to force vulnerable victims to cooperate for their own devious purposes, it castes a long shadow over the entire profession,” Tori Verber Salazar, the county’s district attorney, said in a statement Thursday.
CBS News reported that Bloed had recently been promoted to the rank of sergeant in February 2022.
“In 2014, he was named employee of the month, with the police department boasting that he helped train 145 new officers,” according to CBS News.
Bloed’s law enforcement career trajectory reportedly included:
The criminal complaint comes in the wake of a civil lawsuit filed by three women alleging that Bloed forced them into various sex acts while on duty. One of the incidents reportedly involved Bloed forcing himself on a women in a room at a Stockton Motel 6.
“Sergeant Bloed stripped down to his socks and a blue Stockton Police Department undershirt. The undershirt had a collar on it with ‘SPD’ printed in white letters. He put his gun belt and radio on the desk, but did not turn the radio off,” according to court documents.
Another woman alleges Bloed pulled her vehicle over, later made her pose for photographs, and eventually had unprotected sexual intercourse with her, the San Diego Union-Tribune reported.
Bloed’s attorney – Allen Sawyer – confirmed that his client did meet the women who filed suit while on duty. Sawyer claims the sexual encounters were all consensual, however.
“We’re very disappointed with the way this case has been brought forward,” Sawyer said to CBS News. “Whether or not what acts occurred while he was on duty is yet to be determined. We will be exploring that.”
CBS News reported that Bloed resigned following the Stockton Police Department’s internal investigation. Sawyer also confirmed Bloed’s resignation to CBS, noting that it came prior to the Stockton PD having completed the termination process.
“Even what I described, it looks upon the department poorly, and he knows that he has a responsibility to make sure the public respects law enforcement,” Sawyer said.
The Stockton Police Officers Association issued a statement Wednesday asserting that the group was “extremely disappointed” to hear about the sexual assault allegations and Bloed’s arrest.
“The charges and allegations against him, if proven true, are abhorrent and reprehensible,” the group said. “These accusations in no way reflect the high standards and values of this association and the profession of law enforcement.”
Sexual misconduct is one of the most prevalent complaints against law enforcement officials, according to a recent report from the Associated Press (AP).
In a 2015 investigation, the AP confirmed having discovered “about 1,000 officers who lost their licenses in a six-year period for rape, sodomy, and other sexual assaults; sex crimes that included possession of child pornography; or sexual misconduct such as propositioning citizens or having on-duty intercourse.”
“The probe at once represents both the most complete examination of such wrongdoing and a sure undercount of the problem, limited by a patchwork of state laws. California and New York, for example, had no records because they have no statewide system for revoking the licenses of officers who commit misconduct. And even among states that provided information, some reported no officers removed for sexual misdeeds even though cases were discovered in news stories or court records,” the AP said in 2015.
The AP’s 2015 review was based on a state-by-state pursuit of records related to ‘decertification,’ the process by which a law enforcement license is revoked.
Decertification records were obtained from 41 states (9 states as well as the District of Columbia reportedly either declined to provide information to the AP or stated that they had no systems in place to track police officer misconduct).
Those decertification records were then “dissected to determine whether the cause of revocation involved sexual misconduct,” according to the AP.
In 2018, CNN reported that police officers in the U.S. were charged with more than 400 rapes over a 9-year period.
Citing research from Bowling Green State University, CNN confirmed that “police officers in the U.S. were charged with forcible rape 405 times between 2005 and 2013.”
That figure translates to an average of 45 rapes a year committed by law enforcement officials. Moreover, the Bowling Green State University study found that forcible fondling was even more common, with 636 instances reported.
In November 2021, Dordulian Law Group published a blog following a $4.5 million settlement related to sexual assault committed by a former California Highway Patrol officer – Xavier Aguirre.
After pulling over the victim, Aguirre allegedly directed the woman to the back of his SUV. He then procced to frisk her while claiming to be searching for a weapon. During the frisk, the disgraced former California Highway Patrol officer allegedly groped the woman’s genitalia and breasts while standing on the side of the freeway.
If you’ve been sexually assaulted by a law enforcement official, contact a member of Dordulian Law Group’s (DLG) Sex Crimes Division today at 866-GO-SEE-SAM for a free, confidential, and no obligation consultation.
DLG’s sexual assault attorneys are available 24/7 to answer any questions you may have about filing a police misconduct civil claim.
Our experienced attorneys can help you pursue a financial award for your personal injury case. Contact us online or by phone for a free consultation today.
We’ve helped countless survivors obtain the justice they deserve through maximum financial damages awards, and we’re ready to fight tirelessly on your behalf when you’re ready to pursue your case. There is never any fee until we recover financial compensation – we don’t charge a dime until successfully securing a cash settlement or verdict for your claim.
Founded by former sex crimes prosecutor and Deputy District Attorney for Los Angeles County, Sam Dordulian, DLG offers survivors experience, proven results, and a unique form of legal representation through our four-tiered SAJE Team support network. We are dedicated to believing, supporting, and fighting aggressively for justice on behalf of all California sexual assault survivors.
Sam Dordulian is an award-winning sexual abuse lawyer with over 25 years' experience helping survivors secure justice. As a former sex crimes prosecutor and Deputy District Attorney for L.A. County, he secured life sentences against countless sexual predators. Mr. Dordulian currently serves on the National Leadership Council for RAINN.
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