Chris Helgren/Reuters
A high-ranking commander in the Los Angeles Police Department was reportedly caught having sex with a subordinate by undercover officers just before his abrupt retirement late last month, the Los Angeles Times reports. Assistant Chief Jorge Villegas, a 29-year veteran, violated the department’s policy against sexual relationships with subordinates and also may have violated a criminal statute against lewd conduct in public places, according to sources cited by the Times. Villegas is one of three assistant chiefs in the nation's third largest police department. He retired on Oct. 23, shortly after the undercover surveillance operation. Villegas was also reportedly accused of misconduct in an anonymous letter sent last month to Steve Soboroff, president of the city’s civilian Police Commission. Soboroff is said to have received the letter after the surveillance operation against Villegas, though it was not immediately clear if the misconduct claims were related to what undercover officers said they witnessed.