A former Webb County sheriff's deputy was sentenced to 240 months in federal prison after admitting he sexually assaulted a woman during a traffic stop, disabling his body camera and confiscating a phone before driving the women to a secluded area. Ignacio Rodriguez IV, 29, will also serve five years of supervised release once his prison term ends, and he remains in custody awaiting transfer to a federal facility.
According to FOX 7 Austin, Rodriguez pulled over a vehicle on September 1, 2024, after he said he saw it traveling into oncoming traffic. He ordered the driver and a female passenger out of the car and had them stand near his patrol unit, then switched off his body-worn camera, according to prosecutors.
The passenger managed to record part of the encounter on her cellphone. FOX 7 Austin reported that both women repeatedly asked to go home and Rodriguez replied, “No, you have to convince me”; KTSA paraphrased his response as saying they needed to “convince him.”
Forced Into a Patrol Vehicle
FOX 7 Austin reported that Rodriguez forced the female passenger into his patrol vehicle and sexually assaulted her. KTSA reported that he took the driver into his patrol vehicle, forced her to perform a sex act and touched her without consent. He resigned from the Webb County Sheriff's Office two days after the incident, the station's report notes.
Rodriguez pleaded guilty to civil rights violations this past April. At sentencing, U.S. District Judge Marina Garcia Marmolejo described his conduct as brazen, calculated and extremely cruel, according to the same outlet's reporting. The FBI and the Laredo Police Department jointly investigated the case.
Part of a Troubling Pattern Across Texas
Rodriguez's case is not an isolated one. In December, a former Madison County sheriff's deputy, Ivan Linebaugh, was sentenced to 20 years in prison after a jury found him guilty of sexually assaulting a woman during a traffic stop on Interstate 45, as reported by KBTX. Other Texas law enforcement officers have faced similarly lengthy sentences for abusing their authority during stops, including a former officer who received 20 years, according to federal prosecutors.
For now, Rodriguez sits in custody awaiting transfer to a federal prison facility to begin serving his 20-year sentence, followed by five years under federal supervision once he is released.
