A woman from Las Vegas, New Mexico, has received a $1.5 million settlement from the state after accusing a then-New Mexico State Police sergeant of raping her in February 2023 while he was on duty. The former officer, Kevin Keiner, was never convicted of a crime and now works as a patrol officer for Albuquerque Public Schools.
According to court filings in the federal case, the woman, Monica Logroño, called Keiner — who was on duty, in uniform, and driving a state police patrol vehicle — asking for a ride to the police station to report a domestic altercation. Instead, as reported by KOB 4, Keiner drove her to his parents’ home around 11:15 p.m. Logroño said her shoulder was dislocated when she accused Keiner of raping her, and she told the station she woke up with Keiner on top of her.
Logroño also said Keiner told her to take a shower and then joined her in it, per the station’s report. Las Vegas police filed charges against Keiner, and on February 15, 2023, obtained an arrest warrant charging him with second-degree criminal sexual penetration, a felony, after presenting an initial investigation to the 4th Judicial District Attorney, according to a New Mexico Department of Public Safety announcement. Keiner had served seven years with the state police, assigned to the Uniform Bureau in the Las Vegas District.
Charges Dropped, Internal Finding Stands
Prosecutors dropped the criminal charges against Keiner in 2023, saying at the time that they needed to investigate further, the article notes. He has no criminal convictions tied to the case. Yet an internal investigation by the New Mexico State Police concluded that Logroño was incapable of giving consent, a finding that led to his termination from the agency, according to the Santa Fe New Mexican…