Police officer accused of rape appears in court

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- A Fresno police officer accused of raping a female officer who worked for another police department has made an appearance in court.

34-year-old William Wyatt faces a felony charge of rape of an unconscious person. He is currently on paid administrative leave.

Wyatt left a downtown courtroom in a hurry after pleading not guilty to a felony rape charge. The nine-year-veteran is accused of raping a female police officer from a different department nearly two years ago. Wyatt's attorney, Mark Broughton, says his client is innocent.

"I think what you are going to find when the facts come out is that there is, it's more than a misunderstanding, it's a mischaracterization of a consensual encounter several years ago," Broughton said.

But court records filed this year paint a different picture. The female officer said back in August of 2010 she went drinking with Wyatt and two of his friends at a northwest bar and doesn't remember what happened after that. The next morning, Wyatt told her nothing had happened.

Then in January of this year the victim says she received pictures on her cell phone from Wyatt's girlfriend showing the victim and Wyatt having sex.

The woman told her supervisor and an investigation was launched. A search warrant was served at Wyatt's home and investigators found 20 more nude photos of the victim.

In a court affidavit an investigator described the pictures saying "it appears that the female may be unconscious during the sex."

ABC30 legal analyst Tony Capozzi says the case will be an uphill battle for the defense, even with the testimony of people who were drinking with them that night.

"What were the feelings of the other people in terms of whether or not they were going to have sex. But then again, with these pictures, I think its damning," Capozzi said. "It's difficult to say this woman was aware of what was going on at the time."

He believes in the end, a plea deal will be negotiated. The two sides will meet on October 9.

Get more Local »

fresno, fresno county, fresno northwest, sex crimes, crimetracker, local, amanda venegas

• Comment Now
• Email
• Print
• Report a typo
•