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.
The New Mexico Law Enforcement Certification Board reviewed the disciplinary case against Keiner in September 2024 and issued only a three-month suspension of his law enforcement certification, according to Law Enforcement Certification Board records. Because the criminal case was dismissed and his certification remained active after the suspension, Keiner passed a state-mandated background check and was hired as an Albuquerque Public Schools patrol officer in 2024, per the same board records. Albuquerque Public Schools said his background check was clear before he was hired, but the district has not responded to questions about whether the settlement changes his employment status or how parents and the public can trust its officers, the report states.
Attorney Says Keiner ‘Would Not Have Been Allowed’ Elsewhere
Criostoir O'Cleireachian, one of Logroño's attorneys, said the alleged rape involved an on-duty police officer who took advantage of a woman seeking help. He said Keiner would not have been allowed to remain a police officer under the departments where he previously worked, and that his client is disappointed Keiner still holds that job. O'Cleireachian added that the 7th Judicial District Attorney's Office could possibly re-review the case, though that office has not responded to questions about re-filing charges or investigating further.
“No amount of money can make up for what the client experienced,” O'Cleireachian said, according to the same account, while also praising his client's courage in coming forward. He said the settlement does not take away what his client says happened, but that it allows her to begin pushing past the experience.
How the $1.5 Million Settlement Is Structured
Official court and state records show the New Mexico Department of Public Safety formally finalized the $1.5 million settlement on August 5, 2026, according to KRQE. Most of the funds will go to Logroño immediately, while the state will allocate $200,000 to a fund that guarantees another payout of more than a million dollars in 2061. The settlement is civil rather than criminal and includes no admission of guilt from the state.
The lawsuit, filed as *Nix v. New Mexico Department of Public Safety et al.* in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Mexico, was made possible under the New Mexico Civil Rights Act of 2021, which barred qualified immunity as a defense for government agencies in state constitutional claims and set liability caps for public bodies, according to the Innocence Project. New Mexico was among the first states in the country to eliminate qualified immunity in this way.
During pre-trial litigation, defense attorneys sought to exclude expert testimony from Elizabeth Thomson, a retired Albuquerque Police Department homicide sergeant who previously assisted with APD's 2015 U.S. Department of Justice consent decree compliance, court records show. It remains an open question whether the 7th Judicial District Attorney's Office will re-examine the criminal case or whether Albuquerque Public Schools will revisit Keiner's employment now that the state has paid out over the allegations against him.
