SAN DIEGO COP SOLICITING FEMALE DRIVERS AT TRAFFIC STOPS

More Charges Filed Against SD Police Officer Accused of Soliciting Sexual Favors Anthony Arevalos is accused of sexually assaulting a woman he stopped Jan. 10, 2010, and of receiving a bribe in connection with a traffic stop of a female motorist on Sept. 28, 2009.

Additional charges were filed Wednesday against a San Diego police officer accused of soliciting sexual favors during traffic stops in the Gaslamp Quarter, bringing the total number of women in the case from three to five.

Officer Anthony Arevalos was first arrested on suspicion of sexual battery during a traffic stop after Mardi Gras downtown.

Arevalos, 40, pleaded not guilty March 21 to 10 charges related to three alleged victims. Last week a prosecutor alleged there may be as many as nine victims, most between 20-30 years of age. Currently, the 18-year veteran officer is charged with 18 counts, including false imprisonment, assault under the color of authority and sexual battery by restraint and receiving a bribe.

If convicted, Arevalos faces nearly 17 years in prison, according to Deputy District Attorney Sherry Thompson.

In the charges added Wednesday, Arevalos is accused of sexually assaulting a woman he stopped Jan. 10, 2010, and receiving a bribe in connection with a traffic stop of a female motorist on Sept. 28, 2009.

Arevalos is also accused of trying to get sexual favors from women while he was on duty in exchange for not arresting or citing them for alleged traffic violations. The alleged incidents:

March 8, Gaslamp: Arevalos made a DUI stop on a 31-year-old woman who registered above a .08 on a DUI test, Thompson said. Arevalos then asked the woman what she would offer him to make the charges go away, telling her that one woman had given him her bra and panties, the prosecutor said. The officer told the woman that they had to move to a separate location and he escorted her to a 7-Eleven restroom, locked the door, took her panties, sexually assaulted her and left, Thompson said.

Dec. 29, 2010: A woman under 21 was stopped for an expired vehicle registration and registered a .05 percent on a DUI test after Arevalos said he smelled alcohol, Thompson said. She was detained for being a minor under the influence of alcohol, and Arevalos asked her what she would do to make the arrest go away, the prosecutor said. The woman said she would sleep in her car until a friend could pick her up and declined Arevalos' suggestion that they go into a dark corner for 30 minutes or into the back of his patrol car for 15, Thompson said. Another officer arrived and the woman received a citation, she said.

Oct. 22, 2010, Gaslamp: Arevalos stood or crouched in the car doorway of a woman he suspected of DUI and began poking her breast with his finger when she refused to take a DUI test, Thompson said. The woman showed him her breasts at his request and he allegedly put his hands down her pants before calling a cab for her after the 90-minute traffic stop, Thompson said.

The officer has been placed on unpaid suspension, while the criminal case against him is investigated. A preliminary hearing is set for June 6.