A 19-year old woman claims that a San Antonio police officer raped her after pulling her over, and the officer in question has been accused of sexual assault at least one other time during his eleven-year career.
40-year old Jackie Neal reportedly pulled the victim over on Saturday morning and said her car had been reported stolen. When she showed him the registration to her newly-purchased car, she says, he ignored it and asked her to step out of the vehicle. A request for a female officer to perform a pat-down also went ignored, and the victim says Neal groped her before handcuffing her and raping her in the back of his patrol car.
Officials on the police force say that Neal’s car was equipped with a camera, but the hard drive wasn’t working at the time of the alleged rape, something Neal was aware of. A GPS tracking system was in working order, however, and confirmed that Officer Neal was indeed on the street the victim says she was on when she was pulled over around the time she indicated. Worse, a similar complaint was made by another woman a few years back, but she refused to press charges or cooperate with an investigation, so Neal suffered no consequences. Whether it was because that victim was intimidated is unknown, but Neal allegedly told the 19-year old to stay quiet about what had happened. She reported the rape on Monday nonetheless, and the San Antonio Police Department is commending her for her bravery.
“I can’t express in words how disappointed and angry I am about this. I am at a loss for words,” Police Chief William McManus said. “I am outraged. This is a punch in the eye to the Police Department. There is no such thing a consensual sex on duty. I feel silly even saying that we won’t tolerate it. Of course we won’t tolerate it. There is no gray area. This is a criminal offense. I praise the victim for having the courage to come forward and having the confidence in the SAPD to handle the case effectively.”
Neal was suspended in September for three days after it was discovered that he was dating an 18-year old member of the Police Explorer program, which is provided by local officials to young people who are thinking about a career in law enforcement. As of now, he is out on $40,000 bond and is still receiving pay pending an indictment.
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