Ex-cop pleads no contest in rape case

ALBUQUERQUE (KRQE) - A former Albuquerque police officer plead no-contest to rape and false-imprisonment charges on Friday and was sentenced to probation.

David Maes apologized to the court for his actions in a 2007 case that forced him to resign from the Albuquerque Police Department and move out of town.

Police said in October 2007 Sylvia Cordova was fleeing from police in a stolen vehicle when she crashed into a tree. Maes was assigned to guard her at the hospital.

Cordova claimed he fondled her and then raped her twice in an Albuquerque ballpark before taking her to jail. On Friday she asked the judge to lock him up.

District Court Judge Pat Murdoch said it would be a harsh sentence for an ex-cop

“The impact and the punishment that he would receive in prison would be more than anybody else going to prison for the same allegations,” Murdoch said.

Under the terms of the deal, the judge could have given him 4 1/2 years in prison.

Moments later the judge sentenced Maes to five years on probation, a sentence Cordova said she expected since the man she said raped her once wore a police badge.

“I guess I can say I’m satisfied with the verdict," Cordova said.  "I believe everybody deserves a second chance.  The judge knows what's best."

However, even the judge acknowledged it would have been a difficult case for both parties. The defense said Cordova was a known prostitute before and after the rape accusations were made and Maes was in a police uniform.

“In the end Mr. Maes acknowledges it's not appropriate for a police officer to have sex with somebody in their custody,” defense attorney Joseph Riggs said.

Riggs said the former officer’s plea does not mean he admits his guilt. He said Maes just wants to move on with his life.

“He doesn't admit that he raped her," Riggs said.  "He admits that he had sex with her."

As part of the plea deal Maes does not have to register as a sex offender, and once he completes his probation the conviction will be wiped off his record.

Maes resigned from APD in 2007 and moved out of state.

Cordova filed a civil lawsuit against Maes in 2009. The city of Albuquerque settled the suit and will pay her $575,000. The city paid because Maes was on on-duty officer at the time of the rape making the department was liable.