Woodlake Police Officer in Custody for Sexually Assaulting Two Women
Photo: Oscar Robles
VISALIA – A basic conversation ended up in an arrest for sexual assault, perpetrated by a Woodlake police officer. TCSD Patrol Officers were in the area of Visalia on September 11th when they spotted a man and woman walking.
Stopping to check if they were okay, the man and woman got into conversation with the patrolling officers. During the conversation the woman stated she had been sexually assaulted by a Woodlake Police Officer and wanted to file a report.
The Patrol Officers called the Tulare County Sheriff’s Crime Against Persons Unit to investigate the allegation.
Chief Mike Marquez of the Woodlake Police Department asked the Tulare County Sheriff’s Office to continue with the criminal investigation as a matter of transparency.
The following 48 hours consisted of several interviews investigating the accusations. During this time the department placed the accused officer, 26-year old Oscar Robles, on paid administrative leave.
Even more, within two days, the investigation resulted in a second victim. She too named Robles as the man sexually assaulted her. The two survivors do not know each other. With sufficient evidence to arrest him, Tulare County Sheriff Detectives took Robles into custody on September 13th.
During a press release, Tulare County Sheriff Mike Boudreaux stated Robles “was in uniform” during at least one of the assaults. These assaults took place “mostly in and around the city of Woodlake.”
Hence, Robles is in custody at the Kings County Jail, some 30 minutes away from the Tulare County Jail. This is for his own protection. His charges are –
- penetration with a foreign object;
- false imprisonment;
- assault under the color of authority and intimidation of a victim.
Robles began his law enforcement career in Woodlake in May of 2014. He has no other disciplinary marks on this record. The Visalia Police Department is conducting the inter-personnel investigation. This runs concurrent to the criminal investigation but focuses on the department’s policy or procedure violations which may have occurred.
Photo from King’s County Sheriff’s Office
