Las Vegas cop facing child sex charges is arrested after standoff, police say

Las Vegas Metro police Officer Bret Theil was indicted Wednesday on charges of sexual assault and kidnapping of minors, authorities said. (North Las Vegas Police Department)

A Las Vegas police officer -- who reportedly had been assigned to guard the door to gunman Stephen Paddock’s hotel room during the Oct. 1 massacre -- barricaded himself in his home Wednesday evening, prompting an hourslong standoff with police and a police SWAT unit.

Officer Bret Theil, 38, of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, had recently been indicted on more than two dozen kidnapping and sexual assault charges involving a child, authorities said. The alleged offenses occurred between August 2005 and January 2007, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported.

Following Theil's arrest, a police spokesperson confirmed the officer was to be relieved of duty without pay.

Authorities responded to reports around 7:30 p.m. Wednesday of a suicidal man barricading himself in his home near Corn Creek – a desert area about 30 minutes north of metro Las Vegas.

The standoff ended around 5:30 a.m. Thursday, police said. Theil was taken into custody and booked into the Las Vegas Detention Center, the Review-Journal reported, citing police information.

According to the Review-Journal, Theil faces a slew of charges involving kidnapping, lewdness, sexual assault, and child abuse, neglect or endangerment – all of which involved minors. His bail was set at $1 million.

Theil has been a Las Vegas Metro officer since August 1998, Metro Officer Adan Ocampo-Gomez told the Las Vegas Sun.

North Las Vegas police said they would not provide more information because the investigation is ongoing.

Theil's role in the Oct. 1 police response was reported by Intellihub.com, which cited a Las Vegas police report.