LOS ANGELES -- A Los Angeles County sheriff's deputy was indicted Wednesday for allegedly forcing three women to have sex or oral sex with him and grabbing a fourth woman's breasts.Gabriel Gonzalez, who worked in Compton, Calif., before he was placed on suspension by the sheriff's department, is charged with multiple federal counts of violating the women's civil rights. If convicted, the 36-year-old deputy could face up to life in prison, according to prosecutors.

The indictment returned by a Los Angeles grand jury accuses Gonzalez of using force to rape the two women while they were in his custody in 2002.

One of the women was allegedly raped a second time that year, though the indictment does not allege she was in Gonzalez's custody at the time.

Gonzalez is accused of forcing a third woman to perform oral sex on him on Jan. 9, 2003, and of forcibly touching a fourth woman's breasts through her clothing on Christmas Eve 2002.

Sheriff's department spokesman Steve Whitmore said Gonzalez was suspended with pay within two days of allegations surfacing against him, and that he has since been suspended without pay.

He said the department was "saddened" by the indictment because it "casts a shadow over the deputies who perform their duties with dignity and respect for others."

He also emphasized that "no one is above the law."

"As soon as we discovered this, two days later, he was suspended," Whitmore said.

Four counts in the indictment are felonies that each carry a maximum penalty of life in prison and a $250,000 fine.

The additional count, involving the alleged breast-grabbing, is a misdemeanor that carries a maximum sentence of one year behind bars and a $100,000 fine.

All four women are identified in the indictment only by their initials.