The release of a blistering Department of Justice report on Worcester’s police force may seem like a watershed moment of sorts for the city. However, affected communities say its contents are long-known.

The Justice Department alleged Worcester police engaged in a “pattern or practice” of sexual misconduct involving women suspected of prostitution.

The police department in Worcester allowed officers to engage in sexual contact with women suspected of being involved in the commercial sex trade, according to a Justice Department report.

A Worcester pastor shares his troubling encounter with police, echoing a DOJ report on civil rights violations, and calls for community oversight.

Multiple women told DOJ investigators that Worcester police officers engaged in unwanted sexual contact with them during undercover operations, took advantage of them sexually in vulnerable situations, and threatened arrest if they did not perform sex acts, according to the report.

Hector Pineiro, an attorney from Worcester, joins WBUR's Morning Edition to discuss the Justice Department report on alleged abuses by the city's police.