LAPD Officer To Dispute Molestation Charges

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — A Los Angeles Police Department officer arrested on charges of molesting two young girls he allegedly lured to his home will dispute those allegations in court, his attorney said Tuesday.

Officer Miguel Schiappapietra pleaded not guilty last week to two felony counts of a lewd act on a child under 14 years of age following his arrest on May 18.

Schiappapietra, 28, a six-year LAPD veteran, was off duty when he lured two minors to his Castaic-area home, where he sexually assaulted them, according to prosecutors.

The two girls, both under the age of 10, told detectives that Schiappapietra sexually molested them, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Special Victims Unit.

Attorney David D. Diamond, however, said Schiappapietra "has no record of criminal wrongdoing nor any history of allegations of inappropriate contact with minors."

"With wild allegations already having gone public, let me be clear, there are no claims of penetration, oral copulation or molestation, in any way, shape or form," Diamond said in a statement. "Once the facts come out, it will be clear that everyone rushed to judgment."

Schiappapietra is scheduled for a preliminary hearing on May 30.

His bail stands at $200,000. If convicted, he faces up to 10 years in prison.