A Bakersfield Police officer accused of rape and demanding sex from a female crime victim will not face criminal charges, the District Attorney's office said Thursday.
Patrick Lefler was arrested in late July after the woman came forward saying Lefler recovered her property from her car that had been stolen. But she said Lefler texted her and refused to return the property unless she met him in person to have sex.
A second woman came forward following Lefler's arrest, accusing the officer of rape while on duty.
"There are significant inconsistencies in the statements of the alleged victims and the text messages sent from the victim's cell phones to Lefler," Assistant District Attorney Scott Spielman said in a news release. "Due to these significant inconsistencies, we have serious doubts as to what actually transpired between Lefler and the women he came in contact with while on duty."
"While we take all cases involving allegations of sexual crimes very seriously and while Lefler's behavior may be viewed as professionally reprehensible, it cannot be demonstrated he committed criminal offenses in either of these cases." Spielman continued.
The second woman told investigators Lefler came to her home to follow up on a burglary report she had filed. Lefler forced her onto a bed, she said, and raped her and sexually assaulted her with a baton.
After interviewing the woman, detectives served a search warrant at Lefler's home and confiscated several batons for DNA testing as well as several police uniforms.
The woman said she did not immediately report the crime because she feared for her safety.
The District Attorney's Office reviewed interviews, documents, and text messages recovered through computer forensics, Spielman said.
17's Kelsey Thomas will have a complete report on 17 News at 5 and 6.
