Over a dozen of California police officers accused of raping and trafficking an underage girl in complaint

More than 30 officers were involved in sex-trading a 12-year-old girl, with many of them never punished.

• Celeste Guap claims she was sex-trafficked by California police officers since she was 12.
• The case started unraveling when in 2016 when Guap claimed to have had sex with officers who offered her protection in exchange.
• According to a legal claim, instead of helping the girl, the deputies “continued to traffic, rape, victimize and exploit” her.

In 2016, when Jasmine Abuslin, formerly known as Celeste Guap, was 16, she claimed to have had sex with officers, and that she was underaged at the time, Anonymous News reveals.

The girl, who is also the daughter of an Oakland police dispatcher, alleged that she was involved in sexual interactions with dozens of police officers from seven departments, including Richmond, Oakland, Livermore, Contra Costa County, and Alameda County. While some of them were immediately terminated following the investigation, some were left unpunished and even kept their jobs. As Daily Mail reports, six of the policemen were given warning letters, but this didn’t affect their positions.

According to a KQED piece, three of the officers involved were fired, six were given letters of reprimand, and two quit before being subjected to punishment.

It was also revealed that Celeste Guap received police protection in exchange for sex.

Additionally, as per CBS San Francisco, they tipped her off about undercover operations while she was working as a prostitute. However, while she admits she did feel protected at the time, Celeste recalls that a lot of the deputies knew she was underaged. Guap says:

“Thinking back at it, yeah, I do see myself as a victim. Because I do feel like I was taken advantage of.”

An investigation that started after Officer Brendan O’Brien committed suicide and left a note stating that several officers lied in the first internal inquiry about their relationships with the teenage prostitute. Following the investigation, chief Shaun Whent of Oakland PD was forced to resign, as 14 of his officers were allegedly involved in the scandal.

In May 2017, Guap successfully sued the city of Oakland and was awarded nearly $1million.

The Oakland City Council has approved paying $989,000 to settle the then-teenage girl’s claim against the officers. Jasmine’s attorney, John Burris, said that his client “was abused and taken advantage of by a number of officers.” Burris added that the girl was passed around “like a kick ball.”

According to the attorney, the officers “should be held to a high personal standard of integrity,” adding:

“Each officer is responsible for his conduct but apparently they believed they were above the law and no one would care because her credibility was called into question.”

Shockingly, the very same year, the Oakland police department held a ceremony honoring several of the officers who were involved in the sex scandal. Three officers were getting promoted inside the Greek Orthodox Cathedral in Oakland. Meanwhile, protesters stood outside the church, voicing their disapproval.

The protesters claimed that the officers who were being promoted were not only involved in covering up the scandal, but they also failed to properly investigate it. Some of the activists even insisted that the policemen forced Jasmine to destroy evidence in the case.

Recent records identify four Richmond officers disciplined for their involvement with Guap.

As the Mercury News reports, amongst the identified deputies was also Lt. Felix Tan, who was the chief of staff to then-Chief Allwyn Brown. When Tan was confronted about explicit texts he exchanged with the girl, he replied:

“Of course I made some comments because I’m a guy.”

Back in 2016, Celeste named five officers she claimed to have a relationship with – Lt. Hill, Sgt. Armando Moreno, Sgt. Mike Rood, Officer Jarred Tong, and Officer Terrance Jackson.

Three other names were revealed as new records emerged – Detective Sgt. Erik Oliver, Detective Daniel Campos, and Officer Joe Deorian. They received written reprimands for sexually explicit messaging with Guap. However, none of the officers mentioned were charged, nor fired.

When Gual was 17, she asked the police for help, but they “continued to traffic, rape, victimize and exploit” her. 

As per the Washington Post, a legal claim filed with the Oakland city attorney’s office states:

“Instead of helping [the teen] find a way out of exploitation, they furthered and deepened her spiral down into the sex trade.”

The Oakland Police Department is currently facing a lawsuit over its lax responsiveness to requestors.