Multiple rape charges filed against NYPD officer and Christian pastor for assault on 16-year old girl

RT
Wed, 25 Mar 2015 21:39 UTC

© CBS

An officer with the New York Police Department has been charged with multiple counts of rape related to a sexual relationship he's alleged to have maintained with a teen girl more than 20 years his junior.

The cop, 38-year-old Vladimir Sosa, was arrested in the Bronx on Tuesday and charged with three counts of third-degree rape, five counts of sexual misconduct, two counts of third-degree sexual abuse, and other charges, according to The New York Times. He was released on his own recognizance later that evening, the paper reported, but has been suspended without pay.

According to investigators, Sosa had at least three sexual encounters with a girl between April and September of 2014, while she was only 16. In New York State, the age of consent is 17.

The alleged victim, who has not been identified since she is a minor, confessed to her mother about the relationship last month, according to reports. The parent then approached police, who initiated an investigation that led to this week's arraignment.

A local CBS affiliate reported that Sosa resides in the Bronx with his mother in the home where authorities believe he also had sex with the girl.

"He actually was really kind," neighbor Jocelynne Mora told the station. "If I was locked out of my house, I would knock on his door. I would use his phone." Multiple outlets have reported that Sosa worked for a local church.

According to the Times, a law enforcement official with knowledge of the investigation said that authorities don't believe Sosa resorted to using physical force towards the girl. "He knew her," the source said.

Sosa joined the NYPD seven years ago, according to an NBC affiliate, and had been working out of the 46th Precinct in the Bronx prior to this week's suspension.

Comment: Sexual predators often take positions in the community where they have easy access to their victims. The best protection we have for our ourselves and children is to educate ourselves, so they will have a better understanding of how these predators operate and learn how to spot them.

From Predators: Pedophiles, Rapists, and Other Sex Offenders, Who They Are, How They Operate, and How We Can Protect Ourselves and Our Children by Dr. Anna Salter:

"One molester, who himself was a minister, said: 'I considered church people easy to fool ... they have the trust that comes from being Christians ... They tend to be better folks all around. And they seem to want to believe in the good that exists in all people. And because of that, you can easily convince, with or without convincing words.'

In interviewing victims in the growing number of cases involving priests, I have been surprised - although I should not have been - by how deeply religious many of the victims' families were. I have never before grasped that it was the most religious families who were thrilled to have a priest take an interest in their children, who wanted their children to be altar boys, who could not believe that a priest would do anything so wrong.

The growing crisis in the Catholic Church just underlines the fact that offenders can recognize ideal settings for child molesters even if the rest of us can't. In truth, a deeply religious and trusting group of people, plus the requirement of celibacy (an ideal cover for any man who has no sexual interest in adults), plus a hierarchy that doesn't report complaints to the police and simply moves the offender on to new and fresh territory with new potential victims, is the ideal setting for pedophiles."

See also: SOTT Talk Radio: Predators Among Us - Interview With Dr. Anna Salter