PHOENIX — A jury has partially acquitted a former Phoenix police officer accused of sexually assaulting three women he met on the job.
Court records indicate Sean Pena was found not guilty on two sex assault charges and failed to reach a verdict on the other five charges.
Pena had worked for the Phoenix Police Department for about three years when he was accused and fired for reportedly sexually assaulting three women he met on the job.
The sexual assault allegations date back to 2018. One woman reported Pena forced her to have sex with him in his patrol car while she was handcuffed in August that year. Two other victims came forward in 2019.
That woman remembered then Officer Pena responding to her home after she called about an incident at her house. She said Pena later returned and assaulted her.
"And I said no, no, no," the woman told the jury. "I didn't want it to happen. But how do you say no to the cops?"
EN ESPAÑOL: Jurado absuelve a expolicía de Phoenix de cargos agresión, no llegan a acuerdo en otros cargos
Pena was placed on administrative duty in November 2019 after allegations surfaced. He was fired in July 2020 after the county attorney’s office filed charges in all three cases. He’s pled not guilty to the charges.
In court, his defense attorney said the allegations are out of character.
"Sean became a cop to help people," his attorney told the jury. "It’s something he wanted to do for a long time. He loved it - loved it. He didn’t become a cop to hurt women. But to help women."
Two of the women who accused Pena of assault filed lawsuits against the City of Phoenix. Both were paid $425,000 each in settlements with the city in 2021.
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