Two Bay Area Officers Charged in Sex Scandal

HAYWARD, Calif. (CN) — With the teenager at the heart of a police sex scandal back in the San Francisco Bay Area, two former officers were criminally charged Friday afternoon over their involvement in the case.

According to Alameda County court filings, retired Oakland police officer Leroy Johnson was charged with failing to report child abuse, a misdemeanor.

Dan Black, who resigned from the Livermore Police Department earlier this month, was charged with two misdemeanor counts of engaging in an act of prostitution, one misdemeanor count of engaging in a lewd act in public, and one misdemeanor count of furnishing a minor with alcohol.

At a news conference last week, Alameda County District Attorney Nancy O'Malley said five more East Bay officers would be charged in connection with the sexual exploitation of Richmond, California, teenager Jasmine Abuslin, who formerly used the psuedonym Celeste Guap.

Abuslin returned to the Bay Area from Florida on Thursday after being held in a Martin County jail after biting a guard at a drug rehab center.

Florida officials had considered charging Abuslin with felony assault in the altercation, which would have kept her in the state while she was tried. Ultimately, authorities charged Abuslin with misdemeanor battery and released her.

O'Malley said last week that until Abuslin returned to the East Bay, she couldn't file charges against the officers.

The Richmond Police Department, which raised the funds to fly the teen to Florida and whose officers have also been implicated in the scandal, was accused of secreting Abuslin out of California to delay prosecution.

San Francisco and San Joaquin County officers have also been implicated in the scandal. O'Malley said she has been in contact with authorities in those counties regarding the allegations, and they must decide whether to file charges.

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