A Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputy was arrested this week and charged
with sex crimes against a teenage girl enrolled in the department’s
program for youths interested in law enforcement.
Deputy Manuel
Enrique Perallon Jr. was charged with one felony count of oral
copulation of a minor and misdemeanor child molesting. The deputy’s
victim, authorities said, was a 16-year-old girl enrolled in the
sheriff's department’s Explorer program.
Perallon, 36, was in
charge of overseeing the volunteer youth program at the Cerritos
station. Sheriff’s officials received information last year that the
deputy was engaged in an “inappropriate relationship” with a teenage
Explorer and a probe was launched, said sheriff’s spokesman Steve
Whitmore.
The investigation determined that Perallon had
victimized the teen, Whitmore said, over the span of several months,
sometimes while the deputy was on duty.
Supervision and auditing
of the youth program has been heightened as a result, Whitmore said,
though sheriff’s investigators do not believe Perallon had other
victims.
The deputy faces a maximum prison term of four years. Following the felony charge, he was relieved of duty without pay.
“All
crimes are heinous, especially ones like this,” Whitmore said. “Not
only is it illegal, but it’s categorically unacceptable.”
The
sheriff’s Explorer program is an incubator for youth interested in
careers in law enforcement. Teen volunteers are allowed to assist law
enforcement in basic tasks and are provided guidance in how to become
cops once they’re older.
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