OAKLAND, CA – Four Oakland police officers will be fired and seven others suspended without pay for their roles in a sexual misconduct scandal that sparked national outrage earlier this year, Mayor Libby Schaaf confirmed late Wednesday.

The officers, some of whom may have already resigned, were found guilty of administrative charges of attempted sexual assault, engaging in lewd conduct, assisting in the crime of prostitution and accessing law enforcement databases for personal gain, among other offenses, according to Schaaf.

Seven others were suspended without pay for failing to report the ongoing sexual misconduct, and other crimes. An eighth officer was also assigned to undergo counseling and training for “bringing disrepute” to the department, city officials said.

“I want to send a clear message to the victims of sexual abuse and exploitation living in our city. We see you. We hear you, and we are here to help you,” Schaaf said at a news conference. “And to those who exploit these victims and profit or take pleasure in their pain, we see you too.”

Oakland Police have been investigating allegations that officers were having sexual contact with a self-described teenage sex worker for nearly a year. The woman has told authorities she first met an Oakland officer along a stretch of International Boulevard notorious for the sex trafficking of underage girls.

The scandal exploded in June, when the woman claimed in a televised interview to have slept with more than a dozen city police officers. Some of the sexual interactions happened when she was underage, she said, and the woman also claimed she had sex with some officers in exchange for information about planned prostitution raids.

Oakland Police have been investigating allegations that officers were having sexual contact with a self-described teenage sex worker for nearly a year. The woman has told authorities she first met an Oakland officer along a stretch of International Boulevard notorious for the sex trafficking of underage girls.

The scandal exploded in June, when the woman claimed in a televised interview to have slept with more than a dozen city police officers. Some of the sexual interactions happened when she was underage, she said, and the woman also claimed she had sex with some officers in exchange for information about planned prostitution raids.

From The Los Angeles Times