Former Yakima police officer charged with raping unconscious teenager in West Richland

A former Yakima police officer and school employee is accused of raping a drunken teenager in his West Richland home.

Court documents show that 39-year-old Elias Huizar is suspected of sexually assaulting an unconscious guest after spending the night with his 17-year-old girlfriend and a teenager.

Huizar worked for the Yakima Police Department from 2014 to 2022, but it is unclear where he has worked since he left the department.

He was arrested on Saturday, February 3, after his girlfriend reported that she caught him assaulting another girl.

The two teenagers left Huizar’s truck and drove west until they found a Benton County sheriff’s deputy parked in Benton City. The girl also took herself and her 9-month-old child, Huizar.

When West Richland police went to his home on Highlands Boulevard, he refused to open the door and they forced their way inside. An assistant Benton County prosecutor said in court Monday that Huizar was doing laundry when he was arrested.

The prosecutor asked for bail to be set at $200,000, noting that Huizar followed the two teenagers after they ran away from home and could be charged with witness tampering.

Detectives are also investigating whether Huizar’s girlfriend was of age when she became pregnant.

Court Commissioner Megan Whitmire agreed to set bail at $200,000 and ordered him to surrender his passport, not drink alcohol and have no contact with his girlfriend or the other teenager.

He was released from prison on Monday evening.

Alleged rape

Huizar’s girlfriend told investigators that the three had been drinking Saturday until the younger teen got sick and went to sleep in the guest room. Huizar’s girlfriend lay down next to her in case she got sick again.

Court documents say his girlfriend said she woke up and saw Huizar attacking the unconscious teenager. The girl confronted him and he left the room “as if nothing had happened,” the court document says.

Documents show that the two teenagers drove away with the child in Huizar’s truck and he followed them. Huizar continued driving when they stopped to talk to a Benton County sheriff’s deputy.

West Richland police were notified and went to Huizar’s home, but he refused to come outside, according to a post on West Richland’s Facebook page. Other law enforcement agencies assisted West Richland in entering the home and arresting him.