Sexual-misconduct charge filed against State Patrol trooper

A State Patrol trooper was charged Thursday with custodial sexual misconduct for allegedly having sex with a woman he pulled over in 2005. Carlos Torres, 44, who is on paid administrative leave, is required to appear at the Regional Justice Center in Kent on May 2 to be arraigned. He has not been arrested.

The woman he's charged with sexually assaulting, 38, is one of three who independently lodged complaints against Torres in June 2005, according to charging papers. According to the papers, the State Patrol turned the investigation of Torres, who's been with the department since 1998, over to the FBI.

On June 23, 2005, the woman told investigators that a week earlier she was traveling with her daughter and boyfriend to Federal Way when she was stopped by Torres, who performed sobriety tests and then placed her under arrest on suspicion of drunken driving.

While en route to the police station, Torres began a sexually frank discussion with the woman and asked for her e-mail address, the charging papers state. Torres allegedly took the woman to a Federal Way weigh station. He told her he had previously had sex there with other women he had arrested and then proceeded to fondle her breasts and sexually assault her, according to the charging papers.

A second woman who complained about Torres said he pursued her after her arrest and engaged her in a sexual relationship. A third woman said Torres engaged her in a sexual discussion when he stopped her, charging papers state.

Torres, of Dupont, was not charged in those incidents, though the evidence could be used in court, said King County Prosecutor's spokesman Dan Donohoe. If convicted, Torres could face 6-12 months in jail and would have to register as a sex offender.

Donohoe said his office received the case in late fall and requested some additional investigation from the State Patrol before charges were filed.

Larry Carr, FBI spokesperson, said the case took until now to file because investigators looked into a number of other stops and arrests conducted by Torres in 2004 and 2005. At least two of the other women interviewed from those cases voiced concerns over Torres' conduct, the report stated.

Capt. Jeff DeVere, State Patrol spokesperson, said the criminal investigation is complete and the department will now begin an administrative investigation into the allegations.

Torres is the second trooper in recent years accused of similar misconduct during stops of female drivers. Michael Idland, a six-year State Patrol trooper, pleaded guilty to three counts of custodial sexual misconduct in 2005 after 10 women accused him of sexual assaulting them during traffic stops. Idland spent 17 months in solitary confinement in the King County Jail, received four years probation and was ordered to pay more than $40,000 in penalties and other fees. He no longer works as a trooper.

Natalie Singer: 206-464-2704 or nsinger@seattletimes.com