Judge considering probation for former Fresno police officer in rape case

The presiding judge of Fresno County Superior Court is considering probation for former Fresno police officer William Wyatt, who has pleaded no contest to a felony charge of raping a woman while she was unconscious, the defendant’s lawyer said Wednesday.

In July, Judge Timothy Kams rejected a plea deal that would have resulted in Wyatt, 36, being sentenced to probation.

Kams made the decision after the victim, a former Reedley police officer, testified in court that Wyatt ruined her life.

After the plea was rejected, the case was transferred to Presiding Judge Jonathan Conklin.

On Monday, Wyatt pleaded no contest to the rape charge in Conklin’s court. Conklin then scheduled an Oct. 23 sentencing hearing.

On Wednesday, Fresno attorney Mark Broughton said Conklin is considering probation because the victim has said in letters to the judge that she wants the case resolved. In addition, neither the victim nor the prosecution objects to a sentence of probation for Wyatt, he said.

But if Conklin doesn’t give Wyatt probation, he can withdraw his plea and take his case to a jury trial.

Broughton said he didn’t want to talk about the case until after his client is sentenced. But in the past, he said Wyatt contends he had consensual sex with the woman.

He pleaded no contest because if convicted by a jury of rape, he would face up to eight years in prison.

Wyatt joined Fresno police in 2003 as a patrol officer. He left in 2012 after the woman told authorities that Wyatt had raped her in 2010 after they went out for drinks.

The woman didn’t know she had been raped until Jan. 18, 2012, when she learned of photographs on Wyatt’s computer that showed her having sex with him, according to an affidavit by Fresno County sheriff’s detective Andrea McCormick. The woman told the detective the photographs showed “she is clearly passed out while the officer was having sex with her,” the affidavit said.

The woman also told the detective she didn’t remember having sex and could not have given consent because she was extremely intoxicated, the affidavit said.

Once the allegation surfaced, Fresno police Chief Jerry Dyer took Wyatt’s badge, gun and ability to make an arrest.

This story was originally published October 7, 2015 at 4:38 PM with the headline "Judge considering probation for former Fresno police officer in rape case."