A former Florida cop has been sentenced for civil rights violations against three women after using his authority on distressed female citizens to perform sex acts.
Jesus Manuel Menocal Jr., 34, a former Hialeah Police Department Sergeant, was sentenced in federal court in Miami, Florida to 36 months in prison and one year of supervised release, the statutory maximum sentence.
Menocal previously pled guilty to three counts of violating women’s civil rights by sexually exploiting them.
“The police officer sentenced today violated not only his victims’ rights, but also the public’s trust,” said U.S. Attorney Juan Antonio Gonzalez. “As this prosecution shows, we will hold accountable those in our South Florida community who abuse their positions of power and engage in such disgraceful illegal conduct.”
“The Department of Justice will not tolerate police officers who abuse their authority to prey on those they are sworn to protect,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen M. Clarke of the Civil Rights Division. “The Civil Rights Division will continue to vigorously prosecute these cases to secure justice for the victims of these reprehensible crimes and to ensure that perpetrators who use their unique power to take advantage of others are held accountable.”
“Jesus Menocal now faces the consequences for using his position to sexually abuse women,” said Deputy Special Agent in Charge John J. Bernardo of FBI Miami. “Menocal was sentenced to the statutory maximum which is a testament to the courage of his victims to come forward and tell their stories as well as the dedication of FBI Miami’s Civil Rights Squad.”
According to court documents, Menocal kissed a woman and caused her to touch his exposed penis; had a second woman, who was in psychiatric crisis, perform oral sex on him; and coerced a third woman, who was walking alone at night, into submitting to oral and vaginal sex.
While not directly related to the offenses to which he pleaded guilty, Menocal also admitted to bringing a fourth female into a Hialeah Police Department building and ordering her to remove her shorts and underwear, causing her to expose her buttocks to him.
Menocal admitted that he was on-duty and in uniform during all of these acts, abusing his official authority.
The Miami Division of the FBI investigated the case, with assistance from the Hialeah Police Department.
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