Former federal agent from Riverside guilty of civil rights crimes

A former U.S. Homeland Security special agent who sexually assaulted two women, telling them he was “above the law,” was found guilty Wednesday of violating their civil rights, federal prosecutors said.

John Jacob Olivas, 48, of Riverside was convicted of three counts of deprivation of rights under color of law. He could face life in prison when he is sentenced in March.

Olivas attacked both women in 2012, prosecutors said.

One victim testified that Olivas tried to rape her “after making it clear to her that the police would not be responsive to any report she would make about Olivas because he was ‘above a cop,’ and ‘untouchable’ and ‘invisible’ to police” because of his position as a federal agent, according to a statement from the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

The woman also said Olivas told her he could make her “disappear,” have her arrested on fake charges or have her children taken from her, the statement said.

Olivas also raped another woman on two occasions. She testified that Olivas made comments that led her to believe he couldn’t be touched by the criminal justice system, and before the first rape threatened her with his service gun, authorities said.

Olivas showed his Homeland Security credentials to both victims and asserted “that he was above the law,” prosecutors wrote in court documents.

Olivas began his career with Immigration and Customs Enforcement in 2007 and resigned in September 2015 after working as a Homeland Security Investigations special agent for just over six years.