Fort Worth Police say an officer was arrested Thursday after being accused of sexually assaulting a minor.
Police officials said in a statement Thursday the sexual assault was reported on Nov. 2, 2022, and that during the course of their investigation, they learned the suspect was a Fort Worth police officer, identified as Raymond Lara.
The department said they then immediately began concurrent administrative and criminal investigations into the allegation and placed Lara on restricted duty with no police powers.
On Feb. 2, Lara was arrested without incident by the department's Special Investigations Unit, accused of the offense of continuous sexual abuse of a young child and booked into the Tarrant County Jail.
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"The Fort Worth Police Department holds its officers to a high standard both on and off duty, and does not tolerate criminal misconduct or unethical behavior; therefore, a thorough investigation into the circumstances of these allegations is being conducted," the department said in a statement Thursday.
Lara has been with the Fort Worth Police Department for three years and was assigned to the Central Patrol Division at the time of the report.
The charge of continuous sexual abuse of a child is applied to instances where the abuse is alleged to have occurred against a victim 14 or younger two or more times over 30 or more days. The charge is a first-degree felony punishable by 25 years to 99 years in prison.
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This case will be filed with the Tarrant County District Attorney’s Office. It's not clear if Lara has obtained an attorney.
