US cop charged with raping 5 women while on duty

  • 24/07/2016
San Mateo Police Department mug shot of Noah Winchester
San Mateo Police Department mug shot of Noah Winchester

A police officer in the US has been charged this week with raping five women while on duty.

Police arrested 31-year-old Noah Winchester near his Stockton, California home Thursday (local time) after the local district attorney charged him with 22 counts of kidnapping, rape and related charges.

San Mateo County District Attorney Stephen Wagstaffe charged Winchester with raping the women between July 2013 and October 2015, while he served with the San Mateo Police Department and previously as an officer for the Los Rios Community College District in Sacramento.

"They are the most serious allegations that we have ever filed against a police officer for conduct on duty," says Mr Wagstaffe.

"They (the victims) felt they had no choice. He was there in uniform and all of the victims submitted to what he did and he took advantage of that blue uniform to do it.

"As the investigation went forward and we realized there were two victims, three victims, and ultimately five separate victims, I thought, 'What a disgrace to law enforcement'."

"To have these types of allegations is simply horrifying," says Chief Susan Manheimer of the San Mateo Department.

"I cannot comment as to what was on his background file, but I can tell you, had any lateral officer come to us with sexual misconduct allegations, we would never hire anyone that had these allegations."

Winchester quit the police department in February of this year after he was put on leave in October 2015 when the criminal investigation was launched.

He is scheduled for an arraignment Monday, July 25 (local time).

Newshub. / CBS