LOS ANGELES COUNTY
A Manhattan Beach police officer has been charged with sending explicit messages to a 15-year-old girl, according to officials.
John Cheatham, 33, was charged in February with two felony counts of contacting a minor for a sexual offense and one misdemeanor count of annoying or molesting a child, officials stated.
Between November 2019 and June 2020, the defendant is accused of sending numerous sexually explicit messages through social media sites to the victim. The two had initially met when the girl was at the police station to report a crime.
“Instead of providing assistance and support to the victim, this officer is alleged to have abused his authority when she was most vulnerable,” District Attorney George Gascón said. “If officers break the law they were sworn to uphold, they will be held accountable for their actions by my office.
He is set to be arraigned on June 24. Cheatham is presumed innocent unless proven guilty.
A statement from Dmitry Gorin, Cheatham’s attorney, says he will plead not guilty to the charges.
“He respects the criminal justice process and looks forward to a complete review of all the evidence in court,” the statement said.
The case remains under investigation by the Los Angeles Police Department.