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LA Sheriff's Deputy Arrested For Sexual Abuse Of A Child

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A LASD patrol vehicle on the streets of L.A. (Photo by KingoftheHill via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr)
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A member of the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department has been arrested for sexual abuse of a child.

Deputy Sean Essex, 51, was taken into custody at 11 a.m. on Friday. He is being charged with lewd and lascivious acts and oral copulation with a child under the age of 14.

Essex has been released on $100,000 bond and is scheduled to appear in court Tuesday.

L.A. Sheriff Alex Villanueva has condemned and expressed disgust at such crimes against children.

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In a statement, the department says the investigation was conducted by the Internal Criminal Investigations Bureau with help from the Special Victims Bureau.

The case will now be turned over to the Justice System Integrity Division of the District Attorney's Office.

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