Sergeant pleads guilty to violating rights by sex abuse

A UCF-area bar had its alcohol license suspended after patrons and employees tested positive for COVID-19. (pixabay.com)

MIAMI – A former South Florida police sergeant has pleaded guilty to three counts of depriving women of their civil rights under color of the law by sexually abusing them.

At a plea hearing on Friday, Jesus Manuel Menocal Jr. admitted that he had kissed a woman and caused her to touch him sexually, had a second woman who was in psychiatric crisis perform oral sex on him and coerced a third woman who was walking alone at night into sex, according to federal prosecutors.

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The 34-year-old former Hialeah Police Department sergeant faces a maximum sentence of three years in prison when he is sentenced in May.

Menocal admitted that he was on duty and in uniform when the acts took place, abusing his official authority, the U.S. Attorney's Office in Miami said in a news release.

“We hope that this conviction sends a strong message to survivors of law enforcement sexual misconduct, that their allegations will be investigated and taken seriously,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke, who leads the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division in Washington.