{"id":51404,"date":"2022-11-17T19:33:49","date_gmt":"2022-11-18T03:33:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/?p=51404"},"modified":"2022-11-17T19:33:49","modified_gmt":"2022-11-18T03:33:49","slug":"former-police-officer-guilty-of-befriending-and-sexually-assaulting-15-year-old-crime-victim","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/?p=51404","title":{"rendered":"Former  Police Officer Guilty of Befriending and Sexually Assaulting 15-Year-Old Crime Victim"},"content":{"rendered":"<p id=\"node-title\" style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-size: 24px;\">Federal officials stated that a former police officer with the New Orleans Police Department (NOPD) pleaded guilty Wednesday in federal court to sexually assaulting a 15-year-old crime victim in violation of her constitutional rights.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"YouTube video player\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/5EJ0VUv_oDc\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<div class=\"field field--name-field-pr-body field--type-text-long field--label-hidden\">\n<div class=\"field__items\">\n<div class=\"field__item even\">\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-size: 24px;\">According to court documents, in May 2020, Rodney Vicknair, 55, while working as a New Orleans officer, escorted a then14-year-old girl, who was a victim of sexual assault, to the hospital to undergo a forensic exam, also known as a rape kit. <\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-size: 24px;\">The defendant gave the victim his cell phone number and offered to be her friend and mentor.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-size: 24px;\"> At the time, the defendant was 53 years old.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-size: 24px;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-14844 alignleft\" src=\"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/FBI-Logo-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/FBI-Logo-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/FBI-Logo-45x35.jpg 45w, https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/FBI-Logo.jpg 640w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/>\u201cThe defendant\u2019s job was to protect a child who was a victim of sexual assault but instead he exploited her vulnerabilities and abused his position of power to carry out his own sexual assault of the victim,\u201d said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department\u2019s Civil Rights Division. \u201cLaw enforcement officials who sexually assault children are not above the law. The Civil Rights Division will continue to hold accountable law enforcement officers who sexually assault their victims when they should have otherwise been keeping them safe.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-size: 24px;\">\u201cThe safeguarding of all of our citizens\u2019 civil rights is an essential part of our Constitution, especially for crime victims,\u201d said U.S. Attorney Duane A. Evans for the Eastern District of Louisiana. \u201cAny violation of these rights, especially when committed by a law enforcement officer sworn to protect the rights of our citizens, is particularly disturbing. <\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-size: 24px;\">According to the court documents, in the months and weeks after that, Vicknair and the victim spoke on the phone and exchanged messages on Snapchat. <\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-size: 24px;\">Vicknair, while in uniform, often stopped unannounced at the victim\u2019s residence. Over time, Vicknair made comments to the victim that were sexual.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-size: 24px;\">The defendant arrived at the victim&#8217;s house on the night of Sept. 23, 2020<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-size: 24px;\">. By that time, she had turned 15 years old. He told her to come outside and get into his vehicle. She got into the passenger\u2019s seat while the defendant remained in the driver\u2019s seat. <\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-size: 24px;\">Then, the defendant locked the doors so the victim could not leave. <\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-size: 24px;\">He leaned over toward the victim, and she feared for her physical safety. The defendant then sexually assaulted the victim when he intentionally touched her genitals under her clothing without her consent. <\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-size: 24px;\">The defendant admitted in court that he acted without a legitimate law enforcement purpose and knew his actions were wrong and against the law but that he engaged in such conduct anyway.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-size: 24px;\">A sentencing hearing has been set for March 8, 2023.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-size: 24px;\">The FBI New Orleans Field Office and the New Orleans Police&#8217;s Public Integrity Bureau investigated the case. <\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-size: 24px;\">Criminal Chief Tracey Knight for the Eastern District of Louisiana and Special Litigation Counsel Fara Gold of the Criminal Section of the Justice Department\u2019s Civil Rights Division are prosecuting the case.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Federal officials stated that a former police officer with the New Orleans Police Department (NOPD) pleaded guilty Wednesday in federal court to sexually assaulting a 15-year-old crime victim in violation of her&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":51406,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-51404","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-u-s-department-of-justice"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Former Police Officer Guilty of Befriending and Sexually Assaulting 15-Year-Old Crime Victim<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Federal officials stated that a 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