By KRCR Staff
A former Anderson police
officer accused of raping a woman who was in his custody in May 2010 has taken
another plea deal, this time in federal court.
Bryan Benson, 29, pleaded
guilty to one count of depriving the woman of her constitutional rights under color
of authority in exchange for five years in prison.
He will formally be sentenced
on August 15, and will remain on home detention with electronic monitoring
until that time.
Benson was set to go to trial
in early June, and could have faced life in prison if convicted.
The federal case began in
December 2012, after Benson was indicted by a grand jury.
He was out of jail and on
probation at the time, after serving a one-year sentence under a much-maligned
plea deal with Shasta County prosecutors. In September of 2011, he pleaded no
contest to felony assault by a public official and a misdemeanor charge of
soliciting a lewd act. Prosecutors agreed to the deal because of a belief they
could not convict Benson on more serious charges, due to a loophole in the law
relating to how and when someone is considered “in custody.”
Benson was originally charged
with seven felonies, including rape, kidnapping, sexual battery, bribery and
assault.
Defense attorneys have long
maintained the sexual contact between Benson and the woman was consensual.