Officer Charged for Raping Arrestee

Federal charges came after a much-criticized plea bargain in state court

Federal officials on Monday charged a former Northern California police officer with civil rights violations after he was accused of raping an arrestee while on duty.

Former Anderson Police Department officer Bryan Benson was arrested in Redding on Monday. He is accused of sexually assaulting a woman in a parking lot near the Shasta County jail in 2010.

Benson was charged federally after pleading guilty last year in state court to assault by a public officer and was sentenced to a year in prison. The plea bargain prompted a public outcry and the passing of state law that closed a loophole that allowed Benson to avoid a stiffer penalty because the alleged assault occurred before she was booked into jail.