cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/6942984

An indictment was unsealed today in the District of Idaho charging a former Caldwell Police Department sergeant with civil rights violations involving the sexual abuse of women and exchanging favorable police treatment for sexual acts.

According to court documents, Ryan A. Bendawald, 41, of Franklin, Tennessee, allegedly abused his position as a law enforcement officer by sexually victimizing women in Idaho. From at least 2017 until 2021, Bendawald allegedly engaged in unlawful sexual conduct with at least seven women he encountered in the course of his law enforcement duties. Bendawald is also alleged to have exchanged and offered to exchange favorable police treatment for sex and sexual favors.