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A Southern California workplace who was named “detective of the year” in 2019 allegedly despatched graphic messages to a decoy pretending to be a 14-year-old girl and a few of the communications occurred whereas he was on obligation, prosecutors stated Tuesday.
The civilian decoy contacted Orange County Crime Stoppers and reported {that a} person claiming to be a 45-year-old police officer had despatched them inappropriate messages in December and January, the Orange County District Attorney’s Office said Tuesday.
Santa Ana Police Detective Gregory Beaumarchais allegedly additionally created a second social media account after a know-how platform revoked his unique entry, prosecutors stated.
Beaumarchais, 43, turned himself in Tuesday. He is charged with one misdemeanor depend of annoying or molesting a sufferer believed to be underneath the age of 18. It was not instantly clear whether or not he had an legal professional who might communicate on his behalf.
Santa Ana Police Department
Beaumarchais, a member of the police division since 2011, has been on administrative go away since mid-December, when the company was notified of his alleged conduct. Beaumarchais was named by the Santa Ana Police Department as its 2019 “detective of the year,” in accordance to a 2021 tweet from the division.
“Our Department will not tolerate inappropriate behavior or alleged criminal conduct that infringes on the trust provided by the community we are hired to serve,” Santa Ana Police Chief Chief David Valentin stated in a news launch.
Beaumarchais faces up to a yr in jail and would have to register as a intercourse offender if convicted.
“It is beyond disturbing that a sworn police officer would engage in inappropriate conversations with someone he believed to be a child,” District Attorney Todd Spitzer stated in a news launch. “Our children should not have to worry about being preyed upon by the very people we teach them who are there to protect them.”
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security assisted in the investigation.
“Today’s filing of criminal charges for showing sexual interest in children shows no one is above the law when it comes to keeping communities free from predators,” said Shawn Gibson, appearing Special Agent in Charge, Homeland Security Investigations in Los Angeles.
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story by The Texas Tribune Source link
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