New details emerge about Arcola cop charged with sexual assault
A police officer pulled over a 23year-old woman on Texas 6 in Brazoria County in the early-morning hours of Nov. 16.
The Arcola officer, Hector Aaron Ruiz, accused the woman of speeding, driving while intoxicated and evading arrest — allegations that he warned could land her in jail, according to accounts in court records.
She began to cry, but Ruiz reassured her that he wouldn’t take her to jail, according to the records.
The woman said she began to drive away, thinking the officer was following her to make sure she got home safely. But then, she said, Ruiz pulled her over again, went to her window and said, “I told you to follow me,” according to the court records.
The driver recalled following the officer to an isolated, dark location, where he asked, “Are you going to convince me?” She said he unzipped
his pants and she performed oral sex on him before blacking out.
Afterward, the woman recalled driving away. She was not wearing her bra, shoes or shirt, and does not recall whether they had sexual intercourse. Around noon, she went to the Manvel Police Department to report the incident.
The woman’s allegations were contained in recently filed court documents against Ruiz, of Rosharon, who was arrested and charged in November with second-degree sexual assault and official oppression arising from the woman’s accusations.
The following month, a second woman accused Ruiz of sexual assault while giving her a ride home the previous August, authorities said. Ruiz was arrested again, and two other arrest warrants were also executed for charges of sexual assault and official oppression relating to the alleged assault.
“Crimes such as these cause us to collectively grieve — both for the victims who suffered at the hands of a peace officer, and also for the damage it does to our trust in the officers sworn to protect and serve us,” Fort Bend District Attorney Brian Middleton said in a written statement.
‘It’s criminal’
Police officers were charged with forcible rape more than 450 times between 2005 and 2014, according to a research database compiled by Bowling Green State University in Ohio.
Police officers can target a range of victims, including unauthorized immigrants or even victims of domestic violence, said Philip Stinson, a professor in the university’s criminal justice program who led the research.
“We used to think in these cases that victims were stereotypically very attractive young, white females,” Stinson said. “We have seen in recent years something different, where sometimes these are just like other sexual predators, these are crimes of violence, where they’re looking for vulnerable victims.”
Stinson said officers will use their badge as a source of power to leverage with sexual assault victims. Requiring officers to wear body cameras and have dashcams and GPS tracking devices on patrol cars help in supervising police activity, he said.
“That shows you the power dynamic in these situations, where victims are put in a horrible position,” Stinson said. “You can hardly say that even if she complied that was voluntary and consensual. At the very least, it’s coerced and it’s criminal.”
Both women describe their encounters with Ruiz as being coerced into having sexual relations. In the August incident, the woman alleges that Ruiz was helping provide Spanish translations to her and her boyfriend after he was arrested on suspicion of drunken driving. She told police that Ruiz gave her a ride home, but when they arrived there, he forced her to engage in a sexual act.
Ruiz is out on a $75,000 bond and is scheduled to appear in court Feb. 24. Those charged with sexual assault can face up to 20 years in prison and a $10,000 fine. Official oppression carries a sentence of up to one year in jail and a $4,000 fine.
Ruiz could not be reached for comment, and his attorney did not return phone calls seeking comment.
Arcola Police Chief Michael Ellison said Ruiz has been fired. He had been with the department for two years with no signs of previous bad behavior. Ellison described Ruiz as being quiet and having a good work ethic and a clean background check.
“I was quite disturbed and quite disappointed, and also upset at the same time to find out all the allegations that were made against him,” Ellison said.
Ruiz was one of six officers, including the chief of police, in the small community of roughly 2,000 resident that sits less than 5 miles from Sienna Plantation, a mammoth masterplanned community with some 13,000 residents. It’s about 20 minutes down Texas 6 from burgeoning Alvin.
‘Isolated incident’
Tom Pekar, 58, who runs an aviation business in Arcola, said he would sometime see Ruiz at the airport in the small town. Pekar described him as quiet and extremely polite.
“He probably would’ve been one of the last ones I would’ve expected,” Pekar said.
Ellison called the alleged sexual assault in November an “isolated incident” and vowed to keep the public informed about developments in the case.
“We are going to remain transparent so that the community can keep its trust in us, and so the officers that are here can continue to do their jobs at the highest level,” Ellison said.
Prosecutors are asking any victims to contact investigator Dustin Claborn of the Fort Bend County District Attorney’s Office at 281-341-4460.
The county intends to “vigorously prosecute anyone using a position of trust to abuse those who are most vulnerable and who should be protected,” Middleton said. “The actions of one person should not tarnish the good work that our dedicated men and women in law enforcement perform every day in our community.”