Cop pleads no contest to soliciting prostitute in Daly City

Bakersfield police Officer Nghia Hieu Duong will serve six months of probation.

DALY CITY – A 29-year-old Bakersfield police officer will serve six months of court probation after he pleaded no contest to soliciting a prostitute last summer in Daly City, prosecutors said.

Nghia Hieu Duong entered his plea Wednesday in San Mateo County Superior Court, according to the district attorney’s office. In addition to the probation term, Duong was ordered to complete a human trafficking and prostitution prevention class.

The incident happened on July 30 at the Hampton Inn at 2700 Junipero Serra Blvd. Prosecutors said Duong went to the front counter and told the clerk he was an undercover officer and wanted to know the name of a woman staying in room #208.

The clerk was suspicious and called the Daly City Police Department, according to prosecutors. Officers went to the hotel and identified Duong as a Bakersfield police officer.

Duong told officers he was investigating human trafficking and only his sergeant knew about the assignment, prosecutors said. But a call to the Bakersfield Police Department revealed Duong was not working undercover and had made up the story.

Prosecutors said officers found a woman in the room who was ready for an “act of prostitution.”

Officers seized Duong’s cell phone, which revealed he had made several calls over the previous two days seeking prostitutes for sexual acts, according to prosecutors.

Duong was placed on administrative leave following his arrest, according to media reports.

A Bakersfield Police Department spokesperson and Duong’s attorney did not return messages late Thursday seeking comment on the case and an update on his employment status.

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