Milwaukee's police chief orders Sonthana Rajaphoumi to be discharged as an officer

MILWAUKEE -- Milwaukee Police Chief Ed Flynn has submitted a letter to the Board of the Fire and Police Commissioners ordering that Police Officer Sonthana Rajaphoumi be discharged from the department for violation of department core values. The letter was submitted to the Fire and Police Commission on October 5th.

Rajaphoumi pleaded not guilty in May to two counts of child enticement and one count of soliciting a child for prostitution. But a check of state court records online indicates he "has decided to plea." A hearing on that matter is scheduled for November 10th. He faces up to 75 years in prison if convicted.

Rajaphoumi has yet to be found guilty in a court of law. But a separate police investigation substantiated the charges. The penalty -- losing his job.

Rajaphoumi is a Milwaukee police officer assigned to District 4. He is accused of targeting underage girls for sex — once allegedly asking two teenagers if they wanted him as their personal cop.

Sonthana Rajaphoumi

According to the criminal complaint, Rajaphoumi had three encounters with a 15-year-old girl between October 2015 and January 2016.

Prosecutors say in October 2015, Rajaphoumi was in a marked squad car and approached two teenage girls skipping school and got their phone numbers.

According to the complaint, Rajaphoumi then asked her to pull up her shirt and let him see “what’s under there.” He then allegedly asked her to pull her pants down and suggested they go into the basement. At that time, the victim told Rajaphoumi to leave.The complaint indicates that on January 3rd, Rajaphoumi went to a home of one of the girls, and asked to speak with her mother, however her mother wasn’t there. During a conversation with the victim, Rajaphoumi allegedly said “show me some skin.”

Later, when police asked what she thought Rajaphoumi wanted to do, the girl told officers: “I don’t know. Strangle me or rape me.”

A review of the audio recordings maintained by the Milwaukee Police Department show on January 3rd, the dispatcher called Rajaphoumi’s squad number twice with no response from Rajaphoumi. On the third call from the dispatcher, Rajaphoumi replied.

Prosecutors say the girl recorded the conversation with her cell phone. She claims Rajaphoumi offered to give her $200 in exchange for sex. A 16-year-old victim claims in April, when she was being booked, she was approached by Rajaphoumi, who later allegedly showed up at her home.

Sonthana Rajaphoumi