A Fresno County sheriff’s deputy has been charged with sexual battery and other felony offenses involving two women, the Fresno County District Attorney’s Office announced.

Alejandro Gabriel Apodaca, 31, of Lemoore, is accused of committing multiple sexual offenses against one woman and falsely imprisoning a second woman while he was serving as a Fresno County sheriff’s deputy.

According to a felony complaint filed in Fresno County Superior Court, Apodaca went to the first woman’s apartment on May 10 while wearing his law enforcement uniform. Prosecutors allege he engaged in unwanted and inappropriate sexual contact with the woman, including touching her and directing her to engage in sexual contact with him.

The complaint also alleges that on March 11, Apodaca directed a second woman to pull her vehicle to the side of the road. Prosecutors allege he approached her vehicle, reached inside and took her cellphone, then attempted to engage in unwanted sexual contact as she moved away from him inside the vehicle.

Apodaca is charged with one count of sexual battery by restraint, one count of assault by a public official, two counts of sexual battery, and one count of false imprisonment by violence or menace.

If convicted of all charges and applicable allegations, Apodaca faces a maximum sentence of five years and four months in custody. A conviction on the applicable sex offense would require him to register as a sex offender for life under California law, according to the district attorney’s office.

Apodaca was arrested May 12 and booked into the Fresno County Jail. He was later released on bond.

Apodaca is currently on unpaid administrative leave from the Fresno County Sheriff’s Office, and his certification with California Peace Officer Standards and Training is temporarily suspended.

He is scheduled to appear out of custody for arraignment at 8:30 a.m. Wednesday in Department 33 of Fresno County Superior Court.

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