By Daniel Borunda
El Paso Times
EL PASO, Texas — A woman was unconscious when she was allegedly sexually assaulted by an off-duty El Paso police officer, according to court documents.
Officer Mark Munoz is scheduled to be arraigned in court this afternoon. He was arrested Oct. 20, a day after a grand jury indicted him on a sexual assault charge.
Munoz was released on $10,000 bail but remains at work and is assigned to desk duty at the Pebble Hills Regional Command Center, police officials said.
“This is an investigation that began about a year ago,” police spokesman Detective Mike Baranyay said. “Due process will obviously apply to Officer Munoz just like any other citizen and it will go through the court system.”
Baranyay said Munoz was still working because officials were awaiting for the felony case to go through the court system.
According to court documents, Munoz and the woman were with friends at bars on the night of Oct. 31, 2009. The woman was intoxicated and kept “passing out” while in a vehicle with Munoz. She awoke to find Munoz molesting her before passing out again.
On Nov. 1, 2009, she filed a report at the Mission Valley Regional Command Center and the following day, she underwent a medical exam that found she had vaginal abrasions. It is El Paso Times policy to not identify alleged victims of sex crimes.
The case was handled by the police Special Investigations Group, or SIG, which deals with crimes committed by police. The case was then handed to the district attorney’s office and presented to a grand jury.
Police do not release jail booking photos of law-enforcement officers who have been arrested because of state privacy laws. But Munoz’s photo was released because he has already been indicted, Baranyay said.
Munoz, 46, could not be reached for comment.
Munoz has been honored several times during his 25 years with the Police Department.
Last February, the Fire Department honored Munoz for bringing bags of ice to preserve a man’s arm that had been severed in an industrial accident. Doctors were able to reattach the man’s arm.
In 2002, he was named the department’s Officer of the Year for his dedication, solving a string of tire thefts and helping save the life of a suicidal person with slashed wrists.
Munoz is the second El Paso police officer recently arrested on suspicion of a serious crime. Last month, Sgt. Alberto Madrid was arrested on suspicion of stealing gifts during a wedding reception where he was working security off duty while in uniform.
Copyright 2010 El Paso Times, a MediaNews Group Newspaper