Ex-SJPD officer accused of rape while on duty to face retrial

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Thursday, February 25, 2016
This image shows for San Jose police officer Geoff Graves in a San Jose, Calif. court.
This undated image shows former San Jose police officer Geoff Graves in a San Jose, Calif. court.
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SAN JOSE, Calif. (KGO) -- An ex-San Jose police officer will face another trial for allegedly raping a woman while he was on duty in 2013, prosecutors said today.

A jury deadlocked last week 9-3 in the trial of Geoffrey Graves, 40, who is accused of sexually assaulting a woman at a San Jose Marriott hotel on Sept. 22, 2013.

On Wednesday, the Santa Clara County District Attorney's Office decided it will re-try the rape case, Deputy District Attorney Carlos Vega said.

A Superior Court judge has granted Graves $100,000 bail, Vega said.

A mistrial was declared on Feb. 17 after the jury voted 9-3 in favoring of acquitting the former officer, who had testified that he had consensual sex with the woman.

The woman had been arguing with her husband at their apartment during the early morning of Sept. 22, which prompted their daughter to call police.

Graves was one of five officers who responded to the residence on a report of a domestic disturbance and determined the dispute didn't lead to any injuries or arrests, prosecutors said.

The woman wanted to stay at the Marriott hotel, where she used to work, and Graves gave her a ride in his patrol car. Graves said she was flirting with him during the trip and when they reached the hotel, where she managed to book a room with a receptionist she knew.

Graves left the hotel but returned and gained access to her room, where he said they engaged in friendly conversation and had sex. The woman testified that Graves forced her onto the bed and raped her for about five minutes.

The woman left the hotel later that day and didn't tell anyone about the intercourse with Graves until the California Highway Patrol pulled her over three weeks later on suspicion of DUI.

On the witness stand, Graves admitted he lied to police internal affairs investigators about what happened at the hotel by claiming he returned to the hotel to issue a case receipt for the domestic disturbance at the apartment.

San Jose police terminated Graves last September after seven years with the department.