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| Photo courtesy of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Deparmtent
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A former Los Angeles Police Department officer was scheduled to be arraigned Tuesday on charges of committing lewd acts on four young boys, and sheriff’s officials put out a call for any possible additional victims to come forward.
Paul Razo, 46, was arrested Wednesday, five days after he was charged by prosecutors with eight counts of lewd acts on a child, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.
Razo was scheduled to appear in court Monday, but his arraignment was delayed until Tuesday. He remains jailed in lieu of $2.5 million bail.
According to the District Attorney’s Office, Razo allegedly committed the lewd acts at his home, which sheriff’s officials said was in the 4800 block of Brightview Drive in the Covina area. Prosecutors said two of the alleged victims are related to Razo, while two others are related to a woman Razo dated.
The children ranged in age from roughly 9 to 13 years old when the alleged abuse began, prosecutors said. The alleged crimes occurred between 2006 and 2017, according to the District Attorney’s Office.
“The allegations of sexual abuse against vulnerable children in this case are deeply disturbing and it’s particularly troubling that the defendant was a law enforcement officer at the time,” District Attorney George Gascón said in a statement. “Childhood sexual abuse causes immeasurable harm and our hearts go out to the victims who were victimized by someone they trusted. We will do everything in our power to ensure that they have access to the support and resources they need to heal. Sexual abuse of any kind is a heinous crime and we will not tolerate it in our community.”
The LAPD declined to provide any details of Razo’s employment, referring all calls to the sheriff’s department. Prosecutors said he left the LAPD in April.
In a statement, sheriff’s officials said, “Based on the nature of the allegations and Mr. Razo’s access to children, detectives believe there may be additional unidentified victims.”
Sheriff’s officials asked anyone with information or who believes they may have been victimized to contact the Special Victims Bureau at 877-710-5273 or specialvictimsbureau@lasd.org. Anonymous tips can be made through Crime Stoppers at 800-222-TIPS (8477).
In 2018, Razo received an LAPD Medal of Valor for pulling a man out of a burning car that he saw crash in July 2016 in Glendora while off-duty.
