Paterson Sexual Assault Law FirmA Paterson New Jersey cop accused of committing a violent sexual assault nine years ago will be retiring soon– and his pension is reportedly going to remain fully intact.

The Paterson police officer in question, Manuel Avila, was suspended all the way back in 2007 when he was initially accused of forcing a female prisoner in his custody to perform sex acts on him. The sex crime allegedly happened at Paterson police headquarters.

In 2010, Avila was acquitted on the sexual assault charges. However, the city and the police department eventually reached a settlement with Avila’s accuser and agreed to pay her $710,000.

Meanwhile, Avila has remained on paid suspension for nine years. During that time, he has reportedly earned around $900K in salary.

Now it appears that Avila will be collecting an addition $70,000 annually as part of his pension. That’s because Paterson officials decided to drop internal disciplinary charges against the suspended officer and the state subsequently approved his retirement.

According to one estimate, the incident has cost NJ taxpayers more than $2 million, a figure that includes Avila’s salary while on suspension, his back pay, and the civil settlement.

For additional information, read the NJ.com article, “Cop Suspended for Past 9 Years after Sex Claim Reportedly Gets Pension.”