A former Garden Grove police officer, accused of having a sexual relationship with a 16-year-old police explorer, is now facing criminal charges, the Orange County District Attorney’s Office said on Wednesday, July 29.
Read more Man convicted in terrorism trial over the 2022 stabbing of author Salman Rushdie
Roberto Machuca, 32, of Riverside is facing five felony counts, including unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor, sexual penetration by a foreign object of a minor, and oral copulation with a minor, according to a District Attorney’s Office statement.
Machuca has pleaded not guilty to the charges, court records show. His attorney on Wednesday declined to comment on the allegations.
An officer with the Garden Grove Police Department since 2019, Machuca at one point served as an adviser for the department’s explorer program, in which 14- to 21-year-olds volunteer at the department and learn about law enforcement careers.
According to prosecutors, the first alleged sexual encounter between Machuca and the teenage girl was in May 2026. It wasn’t clear where the alleged encounters took place and whether Machuca met the girl through the explorer program or if he supervised her in any capacity when she took part in the program.
Officials at the Garden Grove Police Department learned of the “inappropriate relationship” between Machuca and the 16-year-old on June 26, prosecutors said.
Read more USC training camp preview: Returning starters, position battles highlight the offense
Machuca was arrested when he showed up for his shift the next day, prosecutors said, and was placed on leave.
On Tuesday, July 28 Machuca turned himself in. A judge set his bail at $100,000 and ordered him to hand over all firearms and his passport.
“Law enforcement officers occupy a position of immense trust, and he exploited that trust to take advantage of a child for his own sexual gratification,” Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer said a statement. “That conduct will never be tolerated among the ranks of those sworn to protect and serve, and justice will be pursued to the fullest extent.”
Machuca is no longer employed by Garden Grove police, the District Attorney’s Office said. A department spokesperson declined to comment on whether Machuca resigned or if he was let go.
If convicted as charged, Machuca faces up to five years in prison and 10 years on the state sex-offender registry, according to the statement by the District Attorney’s Office.
Read more UCLA football: 4 takeaways from Bob Chesney at Big Ten Media Days