Trial Begins For Ex-Officer Accused Of Sexual Assault

Accused of betraying his badge, trial began Monday for former El Paso police officer Zake Rivera, 29.

Rivera is accused of forcing a woman to perform a sex act on him after she called police during a domestic dispute with her husband on January 23.

The accuser was 45 years old at the time.

During its opening statement, the prosecution said Rivera’s own DNA will help jurors find him guilty.

The defense maintains that the sex act, though a mistake on Rivera’s part, was consensual. Attorney Jim Jopling told jurors that the accuser flirted with Rivera as he questioned her in the bedroom of her apartment.

“She told him he was cute, that he looked cute in his uniform,” Jopling said.

The prosecution told jurors that though the accuser was on probation at the time for DWI, her word shouldn’t be doubted.

Assistant District Attorney Beto Acosta said Rivera lured the woman out of the apartment to his patrol unit, which was parked against a rock wall.

The defense countered, saying that the evidence will show that the accuser is the one who initiated the sexual contact.

The defense said while seated in the backseat of the police car, the woman began to talk about sex with Rivera, then grabbed him by his utility belt.

Most of the jury, made up of seven women and seven men, took notes during Monday’s arguments and testimony.

Rivera, who is out on bond, was fired from the police force in March and then indicted the following month.

Trial is scheduled to resume 9 a.m. Tuesday, depending on the weather.