Deputy Is Charged in Wife’s Rape

A sheriff’s deputy was charged with raping a second victim--his wife--as authorities widened a probe into other sex assaults in western Los Angeles County.

Harris Scott Mintz, 41, was charged Thursday with six counts of felony sexual assault, punishable by a maximum of 48 years in prison.

Mintz, a 10-year department veteran, surrendered Tuesday on charges that he raped a Calabasas woman while on duty Dec. 22.

At a brief court appearance Thursday, the new charges were disclosed: two counts of spousal rape of his wife, including one count of forcible oral copulation and one count of forcible sodomy.

In the complaint, Mintz’s wife alleges that he sexually assaulted her on at least three occasions from December 1992 to May 1995.

The Mintz investigation is widening, authorities said.

“There is a continuing investigation into other possible activities similar to what the officer has been charged,” said Sandi Gibbons, spokeswoman for the district attorney’s office.

The victim in the alleged rape last year has already collected $100,000 in damages from Los Angeles County.

Nancy Singer, chairwoman of the Los Angeles County Claims Board, confirmed that her three-member panel approved the award June 19 after a recommendation by attorneys from the county.

“Let’s face it,” said Paul Norris, the victim’s lawyer. “The Sheriff’s Department is 8,000 strong, and like any other profession there are going to be some bad apples in the bag. This is one of those instances.”

Norris said Mintz was well-known to the woman because he was assigned to cover the Lost Hills neighborhood in which she lived. He said the woman knew Mintz but did not have any type of relationship with him.

“He came in saying it was official business, and of course she thought she could trust him,” Norris said.

Norris said the settlement reflected abuse of power by law enforcement, but a county official said the decision was based on economics.

“We settled the civil lawsuit in the case because it was in the best economic interest of the county to do so,” Singer said Thursday.

Mintz was arrested Tuesday after surrendering to deputies at the Lost Hills station and is being held without bail. At a noontime hearing at the downtown Criminal Courts Building on Thursday, arraignment was postponed until Nov. 18.

Last December, the Sheriff’s Department launched an internal investigation after the Calabasas woman came forward saying that Mintz had raped her in her apartment.

Mintz was relieved of his duties July 24 before the nearly yearlong investigation by the Sheriff’s Department resulted in his surrender Tuesday.

Attorneys say the settlement from the civil case cannot be used in the criminal case against Mintz. “We have the reverse of the O.J. Simpson case,” Norris said. “If he would have been convicted in the criminal trial, then they could have used that in the civil trial.”

“How many times have you ever heard of the county settling a case just from the word of someone?” Norris asked. “This woman just came in and told her story. She wanted to protect herself and her children from a long civil trial. But you can bet she will testify in a criminal case against this guy.”