Rob AriasA former Emeryville Police Officer convicted of rape in 1989 is set for a Parole hearing after spending the past 27 years in prison. According to the East Bay Times story, Ron Roy Choss was convicted of raping and molesting his son and stepdaughter over the course of four years. The article details the reservations of one of the victims and expresses fear that Choss will pursue her if freed as well as her current experience with “revictimization” as she relives her past. The 63-year-old Choss qualifies for parole through the Elderly Parole Program designed to ease prison overcrowding. Choss is eligible for the hearing because he is older than 60 and has served more than 25 years in prison.
Choss was fired by the Emeryville police department in the early 80’s “for unknown reasons” according to records and the abuse began shortly thereafter. The chief of police at the time was the notoriously corrupt John LaCoste who served as Chief until being ousted in 1983. The end of the LaCoste era is brilliantly detailed in the 1983 KQED special Million Dollar Mudflats. LaCoste was replaced by Joseph Malpe who served from 1983 to 1987. Malpe was in turn succeeded by Joseph Colletti who served from 1987 to 1998. Colletti stepped down after being diagnosed with cancer and passed away shortly after according to this SF Gate article. Ken James followed Colletti as Chief until his 2015 retirement as detailed in this 2014 interview.
Child molester, former cop, eligible for parole because of prison overcrowding and his age
By Angela Ruggiero
LIVERMORE — Last year, when Michele Choss got a letter from the state Department of Corrections, she had expected to learn that the former Emeryville police officer who raped and terrorized her for years when she was a child was dead. Instead, the letter said her abuser could be set free.
Ron Roy Choss, Michele Choss’ stepfather, was convicted of 13 counts related to the rape and molestation of his stepdaughter and his own son over a period of four years. Although Choss was sentenced in 1989 to 75 years in state prison, recent regulations designed to ease prison overcrowding make him eligible for a parole hearing later this month.
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All these articles and we don’t know why this guy was fired from Emeryville Police Dept – PRIOR to be imprisioned for rape and molestation?
Jane, sorry this response is late. I was the investigator on his rape and molestation case. He had been fired a few years before the allegations came to light. I was never able to find out why he had been fired from EPD at that time, 1987.
[…] Corruption in the EPD continued for at least another decade under the leadership of Chief John LaCoste. A string of tragedies eroded the EPD’s already tarnished image including the fiery death of a woman in her jail cell in 1982 as well a former officer who was convicted of raping his daughter. […]