Retired L.A. MP charged with sexually assaulting 14-year-old girl

LOS ANGELES, Calif. (AP) — A retired Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputy has been charged with sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl after giving her methamphetamine, prosecutors said Wednesday

According to investigators, Benny Vincente Caluya Jr., 68, faces one felony count each of lewd act on a child 14 or 15 years old and sale or delivery of a controlled substance to a minor in connection with an August incident in his House opposite in Lancaster.

According to prosecutors, Caluya and his nephew Clifford Leimana Abihai, 49, picked up the teenager between August 27 and 28 as she was walking alone. They allegedly gave her methamphetamine and took her back to Caluya’s house.

Caluya is accused of sexually abusing the girl. Abihai was charged with one felony count: Selling or furnishing a controlled substance to a minor.

According to the district attorney’s office, both men have pleaded not guilty and are free on bond that was posted last month.

“Benny Caluya separated from the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department in 2001,” the Sheriff’s Department said in a statement last month.

Caluya first joined the department in 1979 as a reserve deputy, according to the Los Angeles Times, which cited records from the state Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training.

Caluya then worked as a deputy at the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department for just over a year before returning to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department as a deputy in 1982, The Times reported.

In 2001, Caluya resigned “for unclear reasons,” according to the Times, which reported that state records show his peace officer certification was no longer active.

Caluya and Abihai are expected back in a Lancaster courtroom on November 12. A date should then be set for a hearing to determine whether there is enough evidence to take the case against them to trial.

“Today we stand firmly in solidarity with this courageous teenage survivor, a young girl whose vulnerability was exploited,” said District Attorney George Gascón. “It is particularly egregious that a former police officer sexually exploited a young girl and her accomplice,” supplying her with methamphetamine.

“These reprehensible acts are completely unacceptable,” he added. We have a solemn obligation to ensure that her voice is not only heard, but amplified, and that she receives the comprehensive support she so desperately needs through our Bureau of Victim Services. We will pursue justice with unwavering determination and hold these perpetrators accountable for their heinous actions.”

If convicted, Caluya faces a maximum sentence of nine years and eight months in prison and Abihai faces a maximum sentence of nine years in prison.

City News Service contributed to this report.