Top Aide To DA Gascón Faces Charges Over Confidential Sheriff’s Deputy Files

A top aide to Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón is facing felony charges stemming from accusations she “impermissibly used” confidential files from the sheriff’s department.

California Attorney General Rob Bonta announced this week that he filed charges against Diana Teran, an assistant district attorney who oversees a division that handles prosecutions of law enforcement officers.

The charges, filed Wednesday in Los Angeles County Superior Court, stem from her previous role as a constitutional policing advisor to former L.A. County Sheriff Jim McDonnell. The attorney general alleges “repeated and unauthorized use of data from confidential, statutorily-protected peace officer files,” according to a statement from Bonta’s office.

After joining the district attorney’s office in 2021, Teran “impermissibly used that data,” according to the statement.

The charges — accessing and using computer data without permission — are linked to files containing information on 11 sheriff’s deputies. The charges do not specify whose they were.

Bonta’s office did not reveal in the statement what Teran is accused of doing with those files.

In her role at the Justice System Integrity Division, she oversees a database of law enforcement officers who have been accused of wrongdoing.

An attorney for Teran, James Spertus, did not respond Thursday to a request for comment. However, he told the Los Angeles Times that the case was “dead on arrival.”

“They’re charging her for doing something within the scope of her employment, that she has a duty to do,” Spertus told the Times, adding Teran had been cooperating with investigators.

“No one is above the law,” Bonta said in his statement. “At the California Department of Justice, we will continue to fight for the people of California and hold those who break the law accountable.”

Gascón did not directly comment on the charges, but defended how his office handles the law enforcement database, known as the Brady list.

“When I took office, we developed a protocol that ensured we complied with our constitutional obligations under Brady — which requires us to turn over potentially exculpatory evidence to the defense, a category that includes law enforcement’s prior misconduct — while simultaneously complying with state and federal law around privacy," Gascón said in a statement. “I stand by that protocol.”

Gascón has made law enforcement accountability a top priority of his administration. His office has sought to prosecute 15 law enforcement officials involved in shootings or in-custody deaths, more than any other district attorney.

It's unclear what effect, if any, Teran’s prosecution would have on that work.

“I remain committed to upholding transparency and ensuring police accountability within Los Angeles County,” Gascón said. “We will address this matter with the utmost seriousness and diligence to uphold the values of justice and fairness.”

The president of the union that represents rank-and-file sheriff’s deputies called the allegations against Teran “deeply troubling.” The union has long criticized her work at the sheriff’s department, which involved disciplining deputies.

“Diana Teran’s disdain for law enforcement was apparent throughout her time with the sheriff’s department, and we weren’t at all surprised to see District Attorney George Gascon place her in a position of power and trust at the DA’s Office,” said Richard Pippin, a longtime critic of Gascón. “If the allegations are true, as a trained attorney entrusted with legally protected confidential files, she should have known better and should be held accountable.”

Pippin also called for a broader investigation of the sheriff’s Office of Constitutional Policing during Teran’s tenure.

Gascon’s opponent in the November election, criminal defense attorney Nathan Hochman, said placing Teran, a former public defender, in a leadership position showed “poor judgment.”

“Diana Teran oversees the prosecution of law enforcement officers – and now the AG says she herself is a criminal,” Hochman said on X, formerly Twitter. “He is destroying a once-great office.”

The district attorney’s office did not say after the charges were announced whether Teran would keep her job while the case is pending.