Officer pulled over woman, then raped her, Texas officials say. ‘Predator with a badge’
A former Texas police officer was sentenced to prison after officials said he raped a woman during a traffic stop.
Hector Aaron Ruiz, 29, was convicted of obstruction of justice and violation of civil rights, according to a June 24 news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Texas.
McClatchy News reached out to Ruiz’s attorney on June 25 for comment but did not immediately hear back.
In the middle of the night on Nov. 16, 2019, Ruiz was working as an officer for the Arcola Police Department and pulled over a 23-year-old woman, prosecutors said. At one point during the traffic stop, he told the woman to “convince” him not to take her to jail, according to officials.
Ruiz took the woman’s driver’s license and told her to follow him. The woman tried to drive away, but Ruiz pulled her over again, prosecutors said. Officials said Ruiz then took her to a construction area, made her drink alcohol and sexually assaulted her.
“Ruiz was not only a predator but a predator with a badge,” U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani said in the release.
Later that day, the woman came forward to authorities and told them that Ruiz raped her, prosecutors said.
When police looked at the woman’s cellphone, they found text messages she sent to a friend during the traffic stop saying she thought she was going to die. Forensic evidence also tied Ruiz to the sexual assault, according to officials.
Officials said Ruiz turned off his body microphone and car’s camera during the traffic stop to try and conceal the sexual assault.
“Hector Ruiz mistakenly believed he was protected by his uniform and badge and operated as a calculating predator who targeted and sexually assaulted his victim during a traffic stop,” Douglas Williams, special agent in charge of FBI Houston, said in the release.
McClatchy News reached out to the Arcola Police Department but officials did not wish to comment.
Ruiz has been sentenced to 20 years in prison followed by five years of supervised release.
Arcola is about a 25-mile drive south from downtown Houston.
