Christopher Rojas admits to one vice that may have cost him his job in law enforcement: "Women."
After 15 months on paid administrative leave, the veteran Sunrise police officer was fired Jan. 28 amid allegations of sexual misconduct, as revealed in documents recently obtained by the Sun Sentinel.
Rojas, 39, who is married with children, denies the allegations and is trying to get his $75,300-a-year job back through arbitration. He declined to comment through his union representative.
An internal investigation by the Sunrise Police Department found Rojas used his authority as an officer to romance and prey on women he met on the job. The 12-year veteran had consensual sex on duty with one woman over the course of two years, police say, while in another case, a burglary victim accused Rojas of forcing her to kiss him at least twice.
"In both cases, Officer Rojas was found to have used his position as a police officer to obtain or try to obtain sexual favors, or otherwise take advantage of these women who were in need of police assistance," Capt. Robert Voss wrote in his Jan. 28 report to the chief.
In the case of the burglary victim, police records state Rojas returned to the young woman's home the day after the burglary and threatened to kick in or shoot down her door if she didn't let him in.
According to Lt. William Glennon, who handled the 615-page internal investigation, Rojas violated 20 departmental policies, including conduct unbecoming an officer, making false statements and failing to document a burglary.
Police Chief John Brooks has recommended the Florida Department of Law Enforcement permanently revoke Rojas' police certification. The agency is reviewing the case.
John Puleo, union representative for Rojas, denied the burglary victim's allegation that Rojas kissed her. In May 2008, the Broward State Attorney's Office declined to file criminal charges in that incident, saying their investigators had not been able to track down Rojas' accuser.
Puleo and Anthony Livoti, Rojas' attorney, both accuse Sunrise of failing to conduct a thorough investigation. They said Rojas was off duty during the trysts and only wore his uniform to fool his wife into thinking he was at work.
"The bottom line: [The sex] wasn't on duty," Puleo said.
But the woman Rojas was seeing told investigators the couple had sex countless times while he was on duty. She made the allegations on June 3, 2008, after the relationship soured.
According to her testimony, she met Rojas in 2004 when she was having an argument with her then-husband and called police. Rojas responded.
Both parties agree their friendship turned sexual. She told investigators they only had sex when he was on duty "because he had a wife" and wanted their affair kept secret.
When Glennon asked Rojas if he had sex on duty, Rojas answered: "Not that I'm aware of" and "I can't remember."
Rojas told Glennon he may have taken vacation time in the middle of his shift to have sex. But Glennon said a review of attendance records shows Rojas never did so.
Rojas said he may have had sex on his lunch break. Police officers are still on duty and paid during breaks, Glennon said.
The woman said Rojas came to her house up to three times a week during his 7:15 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. work shift, staying from 10 minutes to an hour. Neighbors interviewed by Glennon confirmed her story.
Glennon tape-recorded conversations between the woman and Rojas to determine the validity of her claims.
In one conversation, Rojas told her: "The one vice I have in life ... I like women, and you know I like women, OK. That is my vice in life."
In the second case, a woman claimed Rojas kissed her against her will and failed to take a police report after her apartment was burglarized.
Later, she told Glennon why she didn't fight him off: "I thought he was going to hurt me if I didn't" go along with his advances.
According to police, Rojas first met the woman on Oct. 9, 2007, when she reported a suspicious person at her apartment complex. Rojas gave her his business card and cell number. A week later, on Oct. 17, she called Rojas about the burglary.
The woman said Rojas showed up, insisted on talking in her bedroom, kissed her against her will and told her she was going to give him a key after she got the locks fixed. Hours later, the woman left messages for Rojas asking why he hadn't taken a report.
In the meantime, she told her boyfriend, who called police to file a complaint.
On Oct. 18, Rojas showed up at the woman's apartment and knocked on the door. Terrified, she slammed it in his face.
"He began kicking the door, yelling obscenities and threatening to shoot the door" then went around back and forced open the sliding glass doors, according to police.
The woman's boyfriend called 911. Soon Sunrise police swarmed the area.
The next day, Rojas was placed on paid administrative leave.
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