Bridgeport cop faces sex assault charges

Steven Figueroa Steven Figueroa Photo: Contributed Photo / Shelton Police Department Photo: Contributed Photo / Shelton Police Department Image 1 of / 3 Caption Close Bridgeport cop faces sex assault charges 1 / 3 Back to Gallery

SHELTON — A Bridgeport police officer was arrested and charged with one count of first-degree sexual assault Saturday. The arrest was not his first.

Over the past two years, police have arrested Steven Figueroa, 29, on domestic violence charges three times .

The latest of those arrests took place in Shelton late last month. After an investigation, police came to believe Figueroa sexually assaulted the same woman who was the complainant in that case, they said.

Bridgeport police told NBC Connecticut they have placed Figueroa on administrative leave and that the city’s Office of Internal Affairs will conduct an investigation.

In the wake of Figueroa’s second arrest, which took place in 2018, Bridgeport Police Chief Armando Perez described a similar response.

“I’m extremely disappointed,” Perez said at the time. “After his first arrest, we spent a lot of time mentoring this officer, but now that there has been a second arrest we are going to let the chips fall where they may.”

Officials from the police department and the mayor’s office had not responded to email and phone requests for comment on Figueroa’s latest charges Saturday.

State Sen. Marilyn Moore, D-Bridgeport, who is running for mayor against incumbent Mayor Joe Ganim this fall , shared her thoughts in an email, saying she hopes the Bridgeport Police Department “acts accordingly” and reviews its “policy and procedures on how they handled the first two charges against the officer.”

"I am assuming that this officer's gun was taken from him and he is not a threat to anyone during this investigation into sexual assault. His home should also be searched to ensure he does not have any other weapons. The accusation is a serious offense. I am grateful to the Shelton police who took action and arrested the officer,” Moore said.

The events that led to the latest allegations against Figueroa occurred on the morning of June 29, when neighbors reported a disturbance in Figueroa’s Shelton apartment, according to releases. But police could not make contact with anyone in the residence, they said.

Later that morning, a woman reported that Figueroa would not let her leave his apartment after she went there in the early hours to retrieve personal belongings, a release said.

A 2-month-old baby was present during the disturbance, according to police, who charged Figueroa with disorderly conduct, third-degree assault, second-degree threatening, second-degree unlawful restraint and risk of injury to a minor.

They’ve now added first-degree sexual assault to that list.

Figueroa, who was released on $75,000 bond, is set to appear in state Superior Court in Derby on Monday, police said.

Figueroa’s case is still pending on the related domestic violence charges as of Saturday, the website for Connecticut’s Judicial Branch showed. His next court date for that case is scheduled for July 30.

meghan.friedmann@hearstmediact.com