Former New Orleans Police Officer Charged with Civil Rights Violation for Sexual Assault

WASHINGTON - The Justice Department filed a bill of information charging Rodney Vicknair, 55, a former police officer with the New Orleans Police Department, with sexually assaulting a victim in violation of that victim's constitutional rights.

The bill of information alleges that on Sept. 23, 2020, the defendant while acting under color of law as a police officer, willfully deprived the victim of her right to bodily integrity when he engaged in sexual conduct without her consent and without a legitimate law enforcement purpose.

Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division and U.S. Attorney Duane A. Evans for the Eastern District of Louisiana made the announcement.

The FBI New Orleans Field Office and the New Orleans Police Department Public Integrity Bureau investigated the case. Criminal Chief Tracey Knight of the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Louisiana and Special Litigation Counsel Fara Gold of the Criminal Section of the Department of Justice's Civil Rights Division are prosecuting the case.

An information is only an allegation; the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.