MODESTO, CA - The woman at the center of an alleged sex assault by a former Modesto police officer worries the charges he faces will be reduced to misdemeanor counts.
The ex-officer, Lee Freddie Gaines, faces charges of oral copulation by force, being armed with a firearm while committing a sexual offense, sexual battery and assault under color of authority.
The alleged victim, 37-year old Sherry Newton, who acknowledges she was working as a prostitute, said Gaines came to a motel for her services, then handcuffed her and sexually assaulted her.
She said she received a call from the Stanislaus District Attorney's Office on Wednesday informing her the charges were going to be reduced to misdemeanor counts, including one for soliciting sex.
Newton said Gaines never bothered to ask her for sex when he put the handcuffs on her and assaulted her.