One Year Ago Today (October 22, 2020)…Criminal charges were dismissed against a former Upland probationary police officer after the woman he was accused of assaulting and sexually battering declined to testify in court.
The case against Joshua M. Duarte, 32, of Rowland Heights, was dismissed on the defense’s motion after the prosecution announced it was unable to proceed with the case, according to Ricardo Santiago of the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office.
Alleged victims of sexual assault cannot be forced under state law to testify, and the District Attorney’s Office’s policy is “consistent with this law,” Santiago said.
Duarte was charged in January with one felony count each of sexual battery by restraint, dissuading a witness from prosecuting a crime and assault with intent to commit a sex crime.
Duarte was accused of sexually assaulting the woman after asking her to meet with him in his vehicle last Dec. 30. She had recently ended a romantic relationship with him, according to prosecutors, and was off duty at the time.
He was arrested by Pomona police shortly after he was “released from employment” by the Upland Police Department, where he had worked since Aug. 19. Shortly after Duarte’s arrest, Upland police Chief Darren Goodman issued a statement saying he was “disturbed by the allegations.”
“The alleged conduct is inconsistent with the expectations of an Upland police officer and does not reflect on the majority of our officers who work hard every day to maintain the trust and support of our community,” the police chief said then.