Home Contra Costa County District Attorney to Charge 81-Year-Old Retired Oakland Police Captain In Sex Exploitation Case

District Attorney to Charge 81-Year-Old Retired Oakland Police Captain In Sex Exploitation Case

by ECT

In a 16-page Press Release on Friday, Contra Costa County District Attorney Mark A Peterson said that no charges would be filed against officers in the Oakland police sex scandal. However, an 81-year-old retired Oakland Police Captain will be charged in a sex exploitation case.

At the center of the allegations is a young woman who alleges she had sexual encounters with up to 30 local law enforcement officers—some of which when she was just 17-years-of-age. The woman was later identified as Celeste Guap—however, as of Sept. 14, her attorney stated she would like to be referred to as Ms. Abuslin.

According to the press release, during their investigation, they investigated the allegation that Ms. Abuslin had been paid to have sex with a retired Oakland Police Department Captain in the City of Richmond on Feb 3, 2016 when Ms. Abuslin was over 18.

As part of the investigation, they reviewed text messages, Facebook messages while obtaining evidence from the hotel and witnesses. Ms. Abuslin stated she had sex with a retired Oakland Captain in exchange for money. During the interview with the retired Captain, he confirmed that he paid Ms. Abuslin for sex.

The District Attorney says they will be filing a misdemeanor complaint charging a violation of Penal Code Section 647 (B) (Soliciting a Prostitute) against the former police department Captain who retired before 1996.

At the center of the allegations is a young woman who alleges she had sexual encounters with up to 30 local law enforcement officers—some of which when she was just 17-years-of-age. The woman was later identified as Celeste Guap—however, as of Sept. 14, her attorney stated she would like to be referred to as Ms. Abuslin.

Here is a recap summary from the Press Release:

  • Oakland Police Officer Terryl Smith – determined there was insufficient evidence to file criminal charges against Officer Smith for any of his interactions with Ms. Abuslin that occurred within Contra Costa County (May 17, 2016)
  • Oaklkland Police Officers/Alameda County Sheriffs Officers – reviewed evidence of sexual acts that occurred between Ms. Absulin and officers within Contra Costa County limits. According to the summary, no crimes of prostitution occurred—although acts did occur in parked vehicles on public streets or public areas, they did not rise to violations because no evidence there were any other people present or likely to be present to be offended. After reviewing 14-hours of interviews (DVD), Ms. Abuslin alleged that she had sex with three Alameda County Sheriffs Deputies when she was over 18, in Contra Costa County; she specifically stated that none of the sex was in exchange for money or anything else of value. Thus, there was insufficient evidence to file any charges against Todd Utappa based on those interviews. (Sept. 2016)
  • Richmond Police Department Officers – On Sept. 12 Richmond Police released their report regarding their investigation of 11 of their officers regarding alleged encounters with Ms. Abuslin. The investigation took 750-hours of work and contacted 45-inviduals. Ms. Abuslin was contacted 5-time for a total of 6-hours. Their final report was 275-pages long. In total, Contra Costa DA received a DVD with 13-hours of video. While Ms. Abuslin alleged in interviews she engaged ins exual activity with four Richmond Police Officers in Contra Costa County when she was over 18, she specifically stated none of the activity was in exchange for money or anything of value. Thus the crime of prostitution simply didn’t occur. According to Ms. Abuslin own descriptions of those incidents, no crime occurred.
  • Former Contra Costa Sheriff Deputy Ricardo Perez – Ms. Abuslin stated that she and Deputy Perez had approximately 7-to-10 sexual encounters, however, only one of those encounters occurred in Contra Cost county. Her sexual relationship with Deputy Perez bridged the time from shortly before she turned 18 until after she turned 18. Based on the review of her interviews, it’s impossible to determine if the one act that occurred in Contra Costa County occurred before, or after, she turned 18. In addition, whether or not she had turned 18, there is insufficient evidence to establish if Deputy Perez committed the crime of “sex with a minor” during his one sexual interaction with Ms. Abuslin in Contra Costa County. Ms. Abuslin specifically stated none of the sex was in exchange for money or anything else of value. Thus, the crime of prostitution did not occur.
  • San Francisco Police Department Officers – Ms. Abuslin alleged she had sex with two San Francisco Police Officers in Contra Costa County when she was 18, she specifically stated none of the sex was in exchange for money or anything else of value. Thus, the crime of prostitution simply didn’t occur.

According to the Summary, as stated in the Press Release:

“It’s clear that several police officers had sexual relations with an admitted prostitute. Such actions are immoral and inappropriate, especially for someone in their profession. However, according to Ms. Abuslin’s own statements made during 19 separate interview; lasting 24-hours; to six different law enforcement agencies; over a span of seven months; all of her descriptions of her sexual interactions with law enforcement officers in Contra Costa County were not crimes (with the exception of three incidents where Ms. Abuslin alleged possible crimes against former Officer Smith and former Deputy Perez. However, there’s insufficient evidence to prove that any crimes occurred during those incidents).

Evidence of immoral or unethical conduct, or even evidence suggestive that criminal conduct might have occurred, by itself, does not rise to the level of criminal conduct or a provable crime. It’s improper and unethical to file criminal charges against anyone, police officer or private citizen, unless there is sufficient evidence to prove that a person guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

Thus, regarding the interactions between Ms. Abuslin and others, including law enforcement officers in Contra Costa County, our office has filed charges where appropriate and warranted by the evidence, and declined to do so when not appropriate and not sufficiently supported by admissible credible evidence. My prosecutors and I are bound to make our charging decisions based upon admissible evidence that we can present in a court of law, and not based upon the uniformed and irresponsible assertions of various public figures who operate in ignorance of all the facts.

Finally, there was no attempt by anyone to secrete Ms. Abuslin to Florida in order to frustrate any investigation or hinder any prosecution. She made that decision herself, in consultation with her family, in order to seek treatment. Additionally, her contemplation of travel to Florida for treatment was a matter of public record as early as July, 2016.

It goes without saying that our office will continue to always investigate any alleged sexual assault or human trafficking crimes that occur within our county, and we are committed to holding anyone who commits such crimes in Contra Costa County accountable for their actions.

In conclusion, although this scandal is clearly an embarrassment to law enforcement, I want to reiterate that it involves an extremely small number of Bay Area officers. It is truly unfortunate that the conduct of a few can taint the outstanding work of the thousands of officers who do the right thing day after day.

Mark A. Peterson
District Attorney

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1 comment

Nick Nov 4, 2016 - 5:55 pm

At the age of 81? This guy is a pig.

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