ArticleA San Antonio police officer was convicted today of violating the civil rights of a transsexual who said the officer raped and beat her during a traffic stop.
The jury found that Officer Dean Gutierrez's conduct violated Gabriel Bernal's rights through aggravated sexual assault. A sentencing hearing is set for Dec. 1. The felony carries a sentence of up to life in prison and as much as $250,000 in fines, the U.S. Justice Department said.
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"Using one's official authority to forcibly violate another individual, as the defendant did in this case, is disturbing and abhorrent," Wan J. Kim, assistant attorney general for the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice, said in a news release.
