Officer Pleads No Contest in Sexual Assault Case
A South Gate police officer has pleaded no contest to charges of sexually assaulting a driver he pulled over during a traffic stop last year, authorities said.
Robin Craven, 34, is scheduled to be sentenced March 11 in the fondling of a 23-year-old woman on Easter morning, said Deputy Dist. Atty. Nicholas Koumjian. Craven faces a maximum sentence of eight years in prison.
“I’m relieved that the victim doesn’t have to go through the further trauma of going through the events again [in court],” Koumjian said.
According to district attorney files, the victim told investigators that she was on her way to her Huntington Park home from Marina del Rey when Craven stopped her about 3:20 a.m.
He asked her whether she had been drinking, and she replied that she had, the report said. Craven “asked her if spanking her would deter her from drinking and driving,” the report says, adding that he then fondled the woman and sexually assaulted her.
Craven entered his plea at Los Angeles Superior Court on Monday.
South Gate police representatives could not be reached for comment.
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