http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercuryn ... 236456.htm


Posted on Tue, Nov. 22, 2005

Anaheim officer pleads not guilty to on-duty sex assault

Associated Press


FULLERTON, Calif. - A 30-year veteran of the Anaheim Police Department pleaded not guilty Tuesday to charges he sexually assaulted a woman while on duty.

Bradley Wagner, 58, was arraigned in the North Justice Center on charges relating to sexual assault and false imprisonment. If convicted, he could face more than eight years in state prison.

Prosecutors said Wagner, who is no longer employed by Anaheim, was on duty in the early morning of Nov. 11 when he pulled over a 40-year-old woman driving a van.

The woman, who was an illegal immigrant, was afraid of being arrested and deported, prosecutors said. In exchange for not turning her over to immigration officials, Wagner forced her into a sex act, said Deputy District Attorney Susan Kang Schroeder.

"Everybody who's in the United States deserves protection and deserves protection from law enforcement," Schroeder said. "We have an expectation in the United States that our law enforcement will be ethical and not take advantage of people."

During the hearing, a judge reduced Wagner's bail from $1 million to $150,000. Prosecutors said they expected him to post bail soon.

A hearing was scheduled for Dec. 20.