Los Angeles Times

Two sheriff ’s captains on leave

L.A. County officers — one a Chino councilman — face internal review of sexual misconduct allegation­s.

- By Alene Tchekmedyi­an

Two Los Angeles County sheriff ’s captains are on administra­tive leave following allegation­s of sexual misconduct, officials and public safety sources said.

Capt. Marc Lucio, who serves on the Chino City Council, was accused in July of sexual assault involving a child, but prosecutor­s said there was insufficie­nt evidence to file charges, according to the San Bernardino County district attorney’s office.

Capt. Donald Rubio’s case has been under review by prosecutor­s since January, the L.A. County district attorney’s office said. Two public safety sources say he was accused of rape by intoxicati­on. The sources requested anonymity to discuss the case candidly.

Neither captain responded to a request for comment.

It’s unclear when each captain was placed on administra­tive leave. Both were recently promoted by Sheriff Alex Villanueva, with Lucio tapped in February to lead the Transit Services

Bureau, which covers Metro buses, trains and properties. Rubio headed the Community College Bureau.

The allegation­s against Lucio were leveled in July to the Chino Police Department, which referred the case to Ontario police to avoid a conflict of interest, a spokesman for the San Bernardino County district attorney’s office said.

“Based on a lack of sufficient evidence, we are unable to proceed with filing criminal charges against Lucio at this time,” the spokesman said.

In a statement, the Sheriff ’s Department said Lucio is on administra­tive leave pending the outcome of an internal administra­tive investigat­ion, and declined to comment further.

The allegation­s against Rubio stemmed from an offduty incident with an exgirlfrie­nd in May of last year, according to a source with knowledge of the investigat­ion. Rubio was a lieutenant at the time.

The Sheriff’s Department said its Internal Criminal Investigat­ions Bureau referred the case to the district attorney’s office, which will determine whether to file charges. Rubio is on administra­tive leave pending that decision and the outcome of the administra­tive investigat­ion, the department said.

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