A former Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputy pleaded no contest on Friday, June 7, to sex-related offenses involving four girls and was immediately sentenced to 40 years in state prison.
Sean Essex — a sheriff’s deputy for 22 years before his April 2022 arrest — pleaded no contest to three counts of continuous sexual abuse of a child under age 14 and one count of lewd and lascivious acts on a child under 14. He admitted taking advantage of a position of trust and that one victim was especially vulnerable, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office.
Essex, now 53, was indicted in August 2022. The girls were 7 to 13 years old, the District Attorney’s Office has said.
One victim was abused in 2006, while the other three were abused from 2013 to 2022, according to the District Attorney’s Office.
In a statement, District Attorney George Gascón said,
“The horrific sexual abuse that Mr. Essex inflicted on these young victims has not only violated his oath as a law enforcement officer … but also has left these children with life-long trauma,” District Attorney George Gascón said in a statement. “The victims have shown tremendous courage in coming forward to speak about their abuse at the hands of Mr. Essex.”
Essex was assigned to the Sheriff’s Department’s Training Bureau when arrested in April 2022. He was re-arrested in August 2022 and has remained behind bars since then, jail records show.
