LAPD rookie arrested on suspicion of raping a child, resigns from job

Richard Winton
·1 min read
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LOS ANGELES, CA - NOVEMBER 16, 2020: Photograph shows the front entrance to LAPD Headquarters on 1st St. in downtown Los Angeles. (Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times)
The main entrance to LAPD headquarters in downtown Los Angeles. (Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times)

A rookie Los Angeles police officer who resigned after being confronted with sexual assault allegations was arrested Thursday on suspicion of the rape of a child younger than 14.

Diego Jose Miranda Lopez, 23, recently graduated from the police academy and was serving as a probationary officer assigned to the North Hollywood area when investigators confronted him with sex-crime allegations. He resigned from the department, which can terminate probationary officers based on misconduct, the LAPD said in a statement.

The alleged sexual assault occurred before Lopez joined the department, authorities said in a statement announcing his arrest late Thursday evening. He is being held without bail at LAPD’s Valley Jail.

The investigation is being handled by the LAPD's Juvenile Division, which handles sex crimes against children.

The L.A. County district attorney’s office is scheduled to review Lopez’s case for consideration of possible charges on Monday.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.