Special to the Vanguard
Los Angeles, CA – It was a case where the DA’s office under Steve Cooley declined to prosecute in 2006 when a victim reported the abuse. However, under DA George Gascón, an indictment was unsealed today charging a Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputy with sexually assaulting four girls between the ages of 7 and 13 at the time of the alleged 
crimes.
“Sexually assaulting a child not only robs them of their innocence but also leaves lasting mental trauma. This is one of the most egregious crimes my office encounters and it is made worse when the crime is committed by someone who has been entrusted to protect them and our community from harm,” District Attorney Gascón said.
He added, “My office’s Bureau of Victim Services will provide the assistance and resources to the victims in this case to help them in their healing process.”
A grand jury returned an indictment yesterday against Sean Essex (dob 3/18/71) for 18 counts of oral copulation of a child, 12 counts of lewd acts upon a child under the age of 14, two counts of continuous sexual abuse of a child under 14 and one count of possession of material depicting a child sex act. He is facing 14 25-to-life counts and 18 15-to-life counts.
The indictment was unsealed today.
Essex made his initial court appearance this morning in Department 100 of the Foltz Criminal Justice Center. He pleaded not guilty. Prosecutors successfully argued that he should be detained without bail. The case is scheduled for a pretrial conference and bail review hearing in Department 109 on September 1.
The case remains under investigation by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.
