Cathedral City Officer To Appear In Court Today For Sexual Assault Charges

A Cathedral City police officer is scheduled to appear in court in Indio on Monday morning to answer to sexual assault charges.

An investigation into Officer John Fox Jr., who police said took off his clothes and jumped into a pool with two women while answering a noise complaint call resulted in the charges filed on Thursday against the officer, said Riverside District Attorney Rod Pacheco.

Fox faces multiple felony and misdemeanor charges, including assault under the color of authority.

The alleged incident happened at 2 a.m. on Sept. 29 when a homeowner claimed Fox knocked on his door responding to a neighbor’s complaint about noise. He told News Channel 3 the officer proceeded to the back yard where the officer took off his uniform and jumped into the pool with his two female friends.

The women claim the officer started touching them before the homeowner called 911. That’s when, they said, Fox got out of the pool, put his clothes back on and left.

The Cathedral City Police said this is a stain on the department, and it will take some time to cleanup.

When asked if Fox has explained what he was thinking the night of the incident, Lt. Chuck Robinson with the Cathedral City Police Department said, “I don’t know what he has or hasn’t said to the district attorney’s office regarding this case or if he’s even made a statement.”

Robinson said he can’t comment on personnel matters or disclose if Fox has any prior cases of misconduct.

Fox has been placed on paid administrative leave, pending the completion of an internal investigation.

“Police officers are a public trust,” Robinson said. “The community has an expectation of how you’re going to behave and how you’re going to conduct yourself, and when you do something to besmirch the image of the police officer and the uniform itself it’s disheartening.

“You work so hard to build that trust up with the community,” said Robinson. “When something like this happens, you just know that you let your community down.”

Fox has not been arrested, but he is scheduled to appear in court on Monday morning in Indio for arraignment.

If required to go to jail, his bail will be set at $50,000, according to the district attorney’s office.