Former Houston-area police officer gets 20 years in prison for raping woman while on duty

A former Arcola Police Department officer was sentenced to prison after being convicted of obstruction of justice and civil rights violations, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Texas Alamdar S. Hamdani announced Monday , in a press release.

Hector Aaron Ruiz, 29, pleaded guilty Jan. 19. Arcola is about 25 miles southeast of Houston.

U.S. District Judge Charles Eskridge sentenced Ruiz to a total of 20 years in federal prison, to be immediately followed by five years of supervised release.

On Nov. 16, 2019, Ruiz was on duty at night when he stopped a 23-year-old woman to conduct a traffic stop, according to the press release. Authorities said he asked her to “convince” him not to take him to jail, took her driver’s license and ordered her to follow him.

She tried to leave, but he stopped her again and repeated his order.

He then drove her to an area under construction and forced her to drink alcohol, then forced her to have sex with him, according to the release.

That same day, the victim came forward and identified Ruiz as her rapist.

The investigation revealed that Ruiz had disabled his body microphone and the active recording system in his squad car, the news release states.

Investigators discovered a text message the woman sent to a friend while Ruiz forced her to follow him. In this message she said she thought she was going to die

Forensic analysis confirmed that Ruiz was her rapist, the press release states.

“Hector Ruiz falsely believed that he was protected by his uniform and badge and that he was acting as a calculating predator who targeted and sexually assaulted his victim during a traffic stop,” said Special Agent in Charge FBI in Houston, Douglas Williams, in the press release. “We thank the courageous woman who bravely faced Mr. Ruiz in court to ensure he faces justice for the crime committed against her. As law enforcement officers, there is nothing we despise more than those who dishonor the badge, betray the oath to protect our community, and violate the public trust.”

Ruiz will remain in custody pending transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility, which will be determined at a later date.

“Ruiz was not only a predator but a predator with a badge,” Hamdani said in the press release. “During a traffic stop, he raped a young woman he had sworn to serve and protect, violating a fundamental promise that law enforcement makes to any community. The U.S. Attorney’s Office continues its relentless efforts to bring to justice officers who betray their uniform and their oath, committing heinous acts against members of our community. Today’s sentence is the fruit of this quest.

Court records show he was initially arrested in November 2019 by the Fort Bend County Sheriff’s Office and charged with the crime of second-degree sexual assault.

According to a November 16, 2020 press release, a federal grand jury in Houston indicted Ruiz on November 10, 2020, for committing aggravated sexual abuse and kidnapping while performing his official duties as a law enforcement officer. order.

He was also charged with two counts of depriving two victims of their right to physical integrity, the statement said. He also faced two counts of carrying and using a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence and tampering with dashboard camera and body microphone recordings with intent to obstruct a federal investigation.

The FBI and Texas Rangers investigated the case, which Assistant U.S. Attorneys Sharad S. Khandelwal and Sebastian Edwards prosecuted.