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Prosecutors said that the abuse began in May 2016, when Reddy threatened Villegas with revenge porn. According to the lawsuit, Reedy would take photos of Villegas without her knowledge. “These photographs were taken while Detective Villegas was in various stages of undress, including one occasion when the couple was engaged in the act of oral sex,” the lawsuit states, KTLA 5 reported. Reedy then used these photos to threaten Villegas that should she break up with him, he would share the photos with others. Reedy also used the photos to force Villegas to meet with him and out of fear she complied, the suit said.

After having the courage to end the relationship, Villegas was again threatened by the images. Reedy even emailed the photos to her at work and sent her warning texts. “I’m not done yet, it’s only just began[.],” the text read according to KTLA, it also implied other officers would receive the images, according to the lawsuit. “I promised you that[.] You finally crossed the line[.] Now face the consequences[.],” the text continued.

Villegas continued to report the abuse but no action was taken. She then took a stress leave of absence after a 30-year career with the police department. “To end my career this way has been debilitating to say the least. I can’t even describe it. It’s horrible,” she said last year.

An investigation of California’s Criminal Cops by statewide news organizations “found police who are accused of committing a litany of violent behavior,” including physical domestic violence, often plead to nonviolent misdemeanors which result in the ability for them to keep their firearms and continue their duty enforcing the law, the Mercury News reported. In the past decade, a review of state officers also found that over 80 law enforcement officials were convicted of domestic violence, an underreported number due to skewed records on police conduct.

According to the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network (RAIN), an American is sexually assaulted every 73 seconds and that statistic is even higher for those affected by domestic violence. One’s socioeconomic status, profession, and race does not keep them from being a victim of domestic violence. Villegas’s experience is not an isolated incident. A study published by the Data & Society Research Institute reported that “one in 25 Americans are either threatened with or victims of nonconsensual image sharing, or ‘revenge porn’,” according to Business Insider. Last year, former California U.S. Rep. Katie Hill shared her experience with abuse in a piece for The New York Times, she too became victim to revenge porn which led to her resignation from Congress.

NBCLA reported that Reedy appeared shortly in court Thursday, his arraignment has been postponed to Feb. 6.