Trevor Hughes

USA TODAY

Oakland’s mayor fired the city’s interim police chief less than a week after appointing him to run the department amid a probe into whether dozens of officers had sex with a prostitute, including when she was underage.

Speaking to reporters Wednesday, Mayor Libby Schaaf declined to specify why she fired the the interim chief, repeatedly noting that state law prohibits discussion of police personnel matters. Schaaf appointed the interim chief last week following the abrupt departure of the former chief during an ongoing investigation into claims by a young woman who said she had sex with officers, in part, to avoid being arrested.

The Real Reason Why Oakland's Police Chief Was Fired | East Bay Express

Schaaf repeatedly said she needs to trust the department’s leadership during the investigation that is also examining allegations that high-ranking officers in the department knew about the woman’s claims for months but took little or no action. Five Oakland police officers have been suspended, and two of them have resigned. Schaaf said she learned on Monday information that raised concern about the interim chief’s ability to serve and fired him after they met Tuesday.

“We are dealing with disgusting allegations that upset me greatly,” Schaaf said in a Wednesday afternoon press conference. "As mayor, I need to have absolute confidence that the leader of this department can be 100% effective at leading cultural change based on current allegations that we take extremely seriously.”

The probe began following the September 2015 suicide of an Oakland officer who left a note admitting to a relationship with the woman that began when he was married. The woman is the daughter of a police dispatcher, and the investigation into her contact with officers has now broadened to encompass multiple police agencies across the area. At least four law enforcement agencies have opened internal investigations into the woman's claims, which she has backed up with text messages.

The woman, who USA TODAY is not identifying because she may be the victim of multiple sex crimes, has made multiple references to the investigation on her Facebook page and posted pictures of herself giving interviews to television reporters.

She did not respond to a request for comment but told KPIX-TV that she had sex with at least three officers while she was 16, which would be statutory rape. She said she had sex with the officers, in part, for protection against arrest. She has shown reporters text messages purporting to be from some of the officers in which she was tipped off to where vice squad arrest sweeps were to be made.

“I thought ‘wow,’ (the officers) cared about me. Thinking back at it, I do see myself as a victim because I do feel like I was taken advantage of … but, personally, I don’t have any bad feelings toward them," she told KPIX-TV.

Schaaf said she wants to ensure that all members of the Oakland Police Department are “morally fit” to serve the public.