Ex-school cop charged with child sexual abuse

NEWPORT — A former police officer who most recently worked as the school resource officer northeast of Spokane in Newport is charged with sexually abusing a child.

The Newport Police Department said Raul Lopez is charged with lewd conduct with a child younger than 16 and two counts of sexual abuse of a child younger than 16, KXLY-TV reported.

The police department said it was notified about the alleged crimes on Jan. 18 by the Bonner County Sheriff’s Office in Idaho, where Lopez lives. Investigators say the alleged crimes happened there.

Newport Police said Lopez was immediately put on administrative leave and his peace officer powers suspended pending an investigation. Lopez resigned from the Newport Police Department on Friday.

On Sunday, the Bonner County Sheriff’s Office said Lopez turned himself in to investigators and he had been booked into jail. It wasn’t immediately known if Lopez has a lawyer to comment on the case.

“We are sickened, shocked, and angered by the alleged conduct of Mr. Lopez,” Police Chief Mark Duxbury said in a statement.

Lopez had been assigned as the Newport Police Department School resource officer at the Newport Unified School District.