Crime & Safety
Arraignment Postponed for Sheriff's Officer Charged with Sex Crimes
Former Cerritos Deputy Manuel Perallon will face a May 31 arraignment in LA Superior Court for alleged inappropriate conduct with an underage Deputy Explorer.
The arraignment of Manuel Enrique Perallon Jr., a 10-year veteran of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department charged with sex-related crimes involving a minor, has been continued to May 31, according to Elizabeth Diaz Martinez, public information officer for the Los Angeles Superior Court.
Perallon, 36, who oversaw the Explorer program at the , was arrested April 25 on one felony count of oral copulation of a person under 18 and one misdemeanor count of child molesting involving a 16-year-old girl enrolled in the Explorers program.
He was released on $70,000 bond, and if convicted he could face up to four years in state prison.
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The crimes allegedly occurred in 2011 between April 29 and May 1, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office. However, sheriff's investigators believe the alleged "crime timeframe was between February 2011 and May 2011," according to Steve Whitmore, LASD media spokesperson.
The department launched a probe into the allegations last year, Whitmore said, adding, "When it came to our attention, we immediately began to investigate."
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Whitmore told the Los Angeles Times that sheriff’s investigators do not believe Perallon had other victims.
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