Sheriff’s deputy accused of sex with teenage girl due in court
A veteran Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputy accused of having sex with a teenage girl is scheduled to be arraigned Monday.
John Augustus Rose II, 43, was arrested last week on suspicion of having sex with a minor, who was 14 or 15 years old, between February and June while he was off duty, authorities said.
The department launched an investigation after officials said they were alerted about Rose on Aug. 7 by the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department.
“As soon as we heard about it, we investigated it,” Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department spokesman Steve Whitmore told The Times.
He said Rose is “well thought of” in the department. “But this is obviously just inexcusable,” Whitmore added.
Records show Rose — a 22-year veteran — was awarded the Medal of Valor in 2003 for the daring rescue he and another deputy made during the Curve fire in the San Gabriel Mountains that burned 21,000 acres.
“They are just like angels,” Soldier Creek resident Sigrid Hopson told The Times in 2002.
According to media reports and a description of the event by the Sheriff’s Department, Hopson was trapped in her cabin with her dogs, surrounded by fire, when Rose and another deputy drove up to the mountain and saved her.
They made it out while the vehicle’s undercarriage was on fire and two tires were blown out.
Most recently, Rose was assigned to the Community Oriented Policing Services Bureau, which aims to help residents by taking a “holistic approach to problem-oriented policing,” according to the department.
Rose was relieved of duty Thursday without pay. He was being held in lieu of $320,000 bail.
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