An Orange County woman in a newly-filed lawsuit alleges that an Anaheim police officer raped her at her home several months after the officer spotted her at an In-N-Out restaurant and ran her license plate number in order to get in touch with her.
Anaheim Officer Carlos Romero — who is currently off-duty in the midst of an internal department investigation and is facing a criminal charge for the alleged misuse of a DMV database — is now also facing public allegations that he sexually assaulted a woman, according to a civil rights lawsuit filed this week at the federal courthouse in Santa Ana.
The woman — who is identified in the suit by the pseudonym Jane Doe — was in a drive-thru line at an In-N-Out restaurant near Orange Avenue and Brookhurst street on May 19, 2023 when she saw Officer Romero stare at her and smile, according to the civil complaint.
The next day, the woman received a “friend request” on Facebook from Romero, who confirmed that he had spotted her at the fast-food restaurant and had used her license plate information to locate her name, according to the complaint.
“Romero asked plaintiff for her phone number and plaintiff gave it to him,” the complaint reads. “Plaintiff figured it couldn’t hurt to be in the good graces of a police officer in the area.”
The woman made clear to Romero she wasn’t interested in a romantic relationship, according to the complaint. Romero allegedly texted the woman while he was on duty and occasionally came over to her home. The woman consented to Romero kissing her, the complaint said, but “denied his requests for sexual intercourse.”
On Sept. 25, 2023, Romero called and texted the woman, asking if he could come to her home, the complaint said. The woman agreed, the complaint added, but told Romero she was having a bad day and “if he was coming over for sex, he should not come.”
Romero drove over to her home in a police vehicle, according to the complaint, and showed up wearing his uniform.
The woman allowed Romero to kiss her and perform oral sex on her, according to the complaint. But she “expressed hurt” when Romero “roughly and suddenly digitally penetrated” her, leading him to call her a “brat,” according to the complaint.
Despite being told “no,” the lawsuit alleges, Romero pulled his pants down and forcibly had sex with her, then forced her to perform oral sex on him.
“Plaintiff made very clear, prior to and during the forced intercourse, that she did not consent to have sexual intercourse with Romero,” the complaint reads. “At all times during these events Romero’s gun was on the top cushion of plaintiff’s couch, in full view of plaintiff and within reach of Romero. Plaintiff was terrified and fearful for her life. She just wanted Romero to leave.”
Romero could not be reached for comment.
The lawsuit, which also names the city of Anaheim and nine other unnamed city or police department employees as defendants, seeks more than $10 million in monetary damages.
Anaheim City Spokesman Mike Lyster said Romero was taken off active duty in October, as soon as the allegations came to the department’s attention. Romero is still employed by the police department, but is on leave pending the outcome of an internal investigation that officials say is currently in the “advanced stages.”
“We hold our police officers to the highest standards, and our police department thoroughly investigates all matters of employee misconduct,” Lyster said. “When these allegations were brought to our attention, the Anaheim Police Department immediately launched criminal and administrative investigations…
“Beyond that, we need to respect restrictions under state law that prevent us from further comment on ongoing personnel investigations,” Lyster added.
Officials say the results of the department’s criminal investigation into Romero’s alleged actions were sent to the Orange County District Attorney’s Office.
DA officials said the case was reviewed for potential criminal charges by prosecutors with both the sexual assault and special prosecutions units, the latter of which handles most cases involving law enforcement officials.
The sex assault unit declined to file charges, DA spokeswoman Kimberly Edds confirmed, determining that they “couldn’t prove a crime beyond a reasonable doubt.” Should any additional information related to a potential sexual assault surface, Edds said prosecutors would thoroughly review it.
Prosecutors with the special prosecutions unit in April charged Romero with a misdemeanor count of disclosing Department of Motor Vehicle information without authorization. Information in the DMV database is supposed to be accessed by officers only for legitimate law enforcement purposes.
Romero has pleaded not guilty to the charge, court records show, and the misdemeanor case is still active.
