New Law Makes it Illegal for Police to Have Sex with Detainees

Remember state Sen. Joe Simitian’s annual “There Oughta Be A Law” contest? Well, here’s a new law, signed last Friday, that oughta been on that list. Thanks to Assembly Bill 2078 it will now be illegal for a police officer to have sex with detainees.

The bill, which was authored by Assemblyman Jim Nielsen (R-Gerber) and goes into effect Jan. 1, was made in response to an Anderson police officer, Bryan Benson, being accused of raping a woman he was transporting to jail for booking. Benson argued that the sex was consensual, although he did plead guilty to a lesser charge than sexual assault.

It’s disturbing that sworn officers would think it as OK to have sex on the job. This guy learned the hard way. (No pun intended.) But these are the times we live in, when common sense requires rules on the books.

9 Comments

  1. Pretty sad Matt that we need a law when it is already called Rape and False Imprisonment!

    It is not ok to sexually abuse any person on duty, and even it it was consentual the officer needs to be FIRED!

    Thanks for the post sad we needs laws to cover every action regardless of how stupid.  Seems our state officials need to get priorties in order.

    • Did Bryan Benson get fired?  Did he have his pension taken away?  Is this new law a violation of vested rights?  Would Officer Benson be able to apply for a disability pension if he hurt his back or came down with a case of the clap?

      I don’t want to make too much light of this story (OK, maybe just a little bit), but stuff like the fireman that got a disability pension after “fudging” expenses might actually make stupid laws like this necessary.

  2. If you’re disturbed that a police officer would think it “okay” to have sex on the job, you must have been devastated when you learned about President Bill Clinton’s parlor games in the White House. Isn’t it funny that the actions of a 25 year-old cop from a one horse town can generate new law, but not the adulterous behavior of a commander in chief, nor the kinky textcapades of a congressman, nor the homosexual men’s room contortions of a senator, nor the masseuse abuses committed by Al Gore. Hell, had a law been passed every time Ted Kennedy committed a new sex outrage Congress would never have had time to recess.

    By the way, there was nothing standing in the way of the young cop being convicted of rape, except perhaps the evidence. He was offered (and took) a plea deal and will be punished, all without the benefit of this grandstanding new law.

    The city of Anderson now faces a ten million dollar lawsuit, the cost of hiring someone who turned out to be unfit for the job. Hiring cops is risky, something the city of San Jose will, with its bargain basement approach to police compensation, soon discover.

  3. Slow news day Matt. You could of wrote an article about how a cop saved someone’s life or risked his life in the preformce of his duties. But you took the low road, and hated some more. Good job Matt.

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