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The former police Explorer who was sexually abused by an Irwindale police officer has settled her lawsuit against the city for $2.75 million. The Explorer program brings teen volunteers interested in a career in law enforcement to intern with a city's police department.
The woman, who remains anonymous, brought forward sexual abuse charges against former officer Daniel Camerano in 2014. She alleged Camerano abused her at the police station and during ride-alongs while she was a teen Explorer with the department. According to the Los Angeles Times , court records state the woman was 14 at the time of the alleged molestations that began in May 2009, and continued through December 2010.
“The abuse of my client occurred because of a culture of acceptance of sexual abuse and harassment of girls and women that was allowed to persist in the Irwindale Police Department,” lawyer Anthony DeMarco said Friday. “She, like others, was forced to endure sexual abuse and harassment in silence or risk losing her dream of a career in law enforcement.”
Former officer Camerano pleaded no contest in 2014. He also admitted to sexting a 17-year-old Explorer in November 2012.
Camerano was convicted of the charges in 2015, and was sentenced to 32 months in prison.
