L.A. County deputy accused of Ventura County rape

Ventura

Authorities have arrested a Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department deputy on suspicion of a rape in Ventura County that reportedly involved a minor.

The deputy, Neil Kimball, 45, had worked with the department’s Special Victims Bureau. The alleged crime took place during the scope of Kimball’s assignment with the bureau, according to officials with the L.A. County Sheriff’s Department.

The case is slated to be prosecuted by the Ventura County District Attorney’s Office.

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Deputy District Attorney Patrice Koenig said Monday evening she is the assigned prosecutor but has not yet received the case, which she hoped to get Tuesday or Wednesday.

The alleged rape was a one-time event involving a minor, she said. The female victim, now 16, was 14 or 15 at the time of the incident, Koenig said. She did not know where in Ventura County the purported crime occurred.

An internal investigation was launched after L.A. County Sheriff’s Department officials received information from a member of the public, the agency said. The probe found the incident happened in Ventura County in connection with Kimball’s work assignment, according to authorities.

Kimball was arrested Friday evening on suspicion of forcible rape and on suspicion of dissuading a witness or victim from testifying, both felonies, the department reported. He was relieved of duty and was being held in a Los Angeles facility as of late Monday afternoon with bail set at $2 million, jail records show.

“When allegations of criminal activity involve law enforcement, we have systems in place to root out misconduct within the organization, as well as any department member who chooses to violate the law and public trust,” the agency said in an emailed statement.

Online jail records show the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office has placed a hold on Kimball, which indicates he will be transported here for arraignment.