The LAPD is no stranger to scandal, but their past controversies pertained to brutality and racism. Now, an officer is accused of molesting two young girls.
Officer Officer Miguel Schiappapietra, 28, was arrested Saturday at his home in Castaic, Calif., about forty miles northwest of downtown Los Angeles, KTLA reports in the video above.
Schiappapietra allegedly lured the two girls, both under the age of 10, into his home, police said. He was booked on two counts of lewd acts with a child and expected to appear in court Tuesday.
Schiappapietra, a six-year veteran of the force, reportedly moved into the neighborhood with his wife and three young children just five weeks ago.
“You know, having children of my own and knowing there are other children in this neighborhood…I had no idea it was going on down there. It’s very disturbing,” resident Tim Rossi said to CBS.
Neighbors told CBS that the officer was always friendly and seemed like a family man.
Schiappapietra is now on paid administrative leave, pending the LAPD and criminal investigation, the Los Angeles Times reports.
He is being held on $100,000 bail. If Schiappapietra posts bail, he will be assigned to his home until the investigations are complete.