Veteran Sacramento Police Officer Arrested For Repeated Sexual Assault Of 78-Year-Old
SACRAMENTO (CBS13) - A 22-year veteran Sacramento police officer has been arrested for the repeated sexual assault of a now 78-year-old woman while the officer was off duty.
"That's just a heinous crime, but for a police officer to do that was just horrible," Sacramento Police Chief Rick Braziel said at a press conference.
The initial assault took place on the afternoon of Nov. 25, 2010, at the woman's residence near 24th Street and South Manor Drive. A suspect forcibly entered the victim's apartment when she answered the door. He forced the victim to orally copulate him and have sexual intercourse.
READ: Sacramento County District Attorney Complaint
Gary Baker, 49, was arrested Thursday in connection to the assault. The woman previously suffered from a stroke that made it hard for her to communicate with authorities.
"We were unable to identify the suspect, but we did collect enough DNA to upload it in the DNA database," Braziel said.
Baker reportedly returned on Sept. 20 and sexually assaulted the woman again. He would return a third time on Dec. 11, at which time the family installed a surveillance camera.
On Tuesday, the family reported to police capturing the suspect on camera. After reviewing the tapes, investigators recognized the suspect as Baker.
The Sacramento County District Attorney's crime lab positively identified Baker to DNA evidence collected from the 2010 assault.
"I have no explanation why Mr. Baker would do such things," Braziel said.
Baker was taken into police custody Thursday and charged with rape, two counts of forcible oral copulation, attempt to commit oral copulation, assault with intent to commit rape and sexual battery.
"We hold our officers to the highest standards on and off duty. We understand that an incident of this magnitude reflects negatively on the good men and women in law enforcement everywhere. I can assure that this incident is not reflective of the dedicated officers that serve our community every day," Braziel said in a statement.
Baker has been booked into Sacramento County Jail, with bail set at $1 million.
The Sacramento Police Department asks anyone with information in this case to call them at (916) 732-0103. Callers can remain anonymous.
