3 Teens To Face Charges in LAPD Cadet Scandal

[NewsVine_Mariyam]

3 teens to face charges in LAPD cadet scandal

LOS ANGELES_Three former Los Angeles Police Department cadets will face criminal charges in connection with a scandal that rocked the department's signature youth program last year, sources told the Los Angeles Times.

Prosecutors filed charges in recent weeks against the teens, who were among a group of seven cadets accused of taking LAPD cruisers on joyrides and stealing department equipment in June 2017, according to two sources with knowledge of the investigation.

The sources requested anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the case. The alleged thefts sparked an investigation that ended in the arrest of former LAPD Officer Robert Cain, who was charged with sexually abusing a 15-year-old member of the cadet program.

Luis Carrillo, an attorney representing Cain's accuser, also confirmed that the Los Angeles County district attorney's office is pressing criminal charges against several of the cadets arrested last year. Prosecutors declined to charge his client, according to Carrillo, who said he did not know exactly what charges were filed.
​

 

[Remodeling Maidiac]

Stupid kids being stupid is political how?

 

[TNHarley]

Ok, so what do you think about it?

 

[NewsVine_Mariyam]

I will be the first to admit that I know nothing about LAPD's Cadet program but the thought of 15 year olds having access to police cruisers and the age at which developing humans are considered to be able to exercise sound judgment is not meshing here for me.

Furthermore, the fact that these cadets were able to secret the vehicles for as long as they did begs the question of what type of oversight is there for these programs. It sounds like a disaster in the making

The cadet scandal surfaced last June when an investigation into a pair of missing LAPD cruisers led detectives to a 16-year-old cadet assigned to the 77th Street division, investigators have said. Detectives went to the teen's South L.A. home and spotted the stolen cruisers, kicking off a car chase that ended in a pair of crashes.

Ultimately, seven cadets were arrested and accused of taking at least three LAPD cruisers out on joyrides and stealing police equipment that included Tasers, radios and bulletproof vests. A search warrant obtained by The Times last year revealed that the cadets had access to the stolen cruisers for at least six weeks, driving as far away as Corona and Santa Clarita.

They often drove with their lights and sirens blaring, at one point racing through South L.A. to Hawthorne to move one of the cadets' personal vehicles in the hopes of avoiding a parking ticket, according to the warrant.

The teens were blatant in their actions, according to the warrant, driving LAPD vehicles to several events that officers would have been present at. The stolen cruisers were also used to conduct motor vehicle stops in Huntington Park and Inglewood, according to the warrant.

The alleged ringleader told other cadets he had special permission to drive the cars, and another said he was given access to a vehicle by the officer who ran the equipment room at the station, the warrant said.

An LAPD investigation of the thefts also revealed evidence leading to allegations that Cain had sexually abused one of the cadets allegedly involved in the thefts. Cain was charged last year with oral copulation of a person younger than16, lewd acts upon a child and unlawful sexual intercourse.​

 

[Ringel05]

3 teens to face charges in LAPD cadet scandal

LOS ANGELES_Three former Los Angeles Police Department cadets will face criminal charges in connection with a scandal that rocked the department's signature youth program last year, sources told the Los Angeles Times.

Prosecutors filed charges in recent weeks against the teens, who were among a group of seven cadets accused of taking LAPD cruisers on joyrides and stealing department equipment in June 2017, according to two sources with knowledge of the investigation.

The sources requested anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the case. The alleged thefts sparked an investigation that ended in the arrest of former LAPD Officer Robert Cain, who was charged with sexually abusing a 15-year-old member of the cadet program.

Luis Carrillo, an attorney representing Cain's accuser, also confirmed that the Los Angeles County district attorney's office is pressing criminal charges against several of the cadets arrested last year. Prosecutors declined to charge his client, according to Carrillo, who said he did not know exactly what charges were filed.
​

Politics? Really?

 

[blastoff]

Only one question here IMO.

How friggin’ stupid do you have to be to steal police cars, take them home, and think you’re gonna get away with it?

I’d suggest either initiating or tweaking the cadet program screening process might be in order.

 

[harmonica]

...for some males, they'll do anything for sex.....it's like an unmanageable force that totally blinds
..the cop sexually abusing--and a 15 year old at that !!
dumbass
SEVEN accused of theft??!! WTF?