Oceanside

Prosecutors said they will not file criminal charges against a California Highway Patrol officer who was accused by an 18-year-old woman of sexual assault.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Michael Pent, in a letter to Oceanside police, who were investigating the allegations, said the woman recanted much of her story of the alleged attack.

Furthermore, he said, she admitted to allowing the officer to remove her clothing and massage her, thereby reducing “the likelihood of conviction for any offense, including sexual battery.”

The woman originally said the off-duty officer took her to an Oceanside motel, where he raped her after an evening of dinner and drinks.

The officer, assigned to the CHP’s Oceanside office, admitted that he tried to have sex with the woman but backed off after she rejected his advances.

CHP spokesman Craig Muehleisen said the agency is conducting its own investigation into the officer’s conduct. Because the district attorney’s office decided this week not to prosecute, the officer’s badge and gun have been returned to him and he has been assigned desk duty pending the outcome of the internal investigation, Muehleisen said.