Two veteran Los Angeles police officers have been charged with repeatedly sexually assaulting four women while on duty, prosecutors announced on Wednesday.

Officers James Nichols, 44, and Luis Valenzuela, 43, are facing multiple charges, including forcible rape, rape under color of authority, oral copulation under color of authority and oral copulation by force, the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office said.

The victims were ages 19, 24, 25 and 34 when the assaults occurred, according to the charges, which say that most, but not all, of the offenses occurred while the officers were on duty.

The assaults allegedly began in December 2008, after Nichols and Valenzuela became partners, and continued through 2011. Prosecutors said the men attacked their victims at various locations, including in their police vehicles.



All four of the women were also arrested at various times for drug-related offenses, according to the charges.

The charges come two months after Oklahoma City officer Daniel Holtzclaw was convicted of five counts of rape and 13 other counts of sexual assault in a case that that put the issue of sexual assault by law enforcement officials in the national spotlight.

In a year-long investigation, the Associated Press uncovered roughly 1,000 officers in the US who lost their badges over a six-year period for rape, sodomy and other sexual assault offenses.

If the two Los Angeles police officers are convicted, they face a life sentence in state prison, prosecutors said.

Valenzuela is also charged with one count of assault with a firearm for allegedly pointing his gun at one of the women, the district attorney’s office said.

Prosecutors are requesting that bail be set at $3.83m for Nichols and $3.76m for Valenzuela. The officers will be arraigned on Thursday.

The Los Angeles Times first reported on the allegations against the two men in January 2013.

Police said in a statement that the charges stemmed from a department investigation following complaints against the officers. Nichols, a 15-year veteran of the agency, and Valenzuela, an 18-year veteran, were relieved from duty prior to their arrests, the statement said.

“I will say again, any officer that abuses the public’s trust is not welcome in the LAPD and we will continue vigorously investigating officers accused of alleged crimes and cooperate fully with the District Attorney’s office,” said police chief Charlie Beck.