Retired LA County sheriff's deputy charged with sexually assaulting teen, supplying her with meth
A retired Los Angeles County sheriff's deputy has been charged with sexually assaulting a teenage girl and supplying her with methamphetamine, prosecutors said Wednesday.
Benny Vincente Caluya, Jr., 68, faces one felony count of lewd act upon a child aged 14 or 15 and one felony count of sale or furnishing a controlled substance to a minor, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office. He faces up to nine years and eight months in state prison if convicted of all charges, prosecutors said.
Caluya allegedly sexually assaulted the girl at his home in Lancaster in August.
He remains free after posting $250,000 bond, according to county inmate records.
Between Aug. 27 and 28, he and another man, Clifford Abihai, picked up the girl when she was walking alone in Lancaster and supplied her with the drug, according to prosecutors. Abihai also faces one felony count of sale or furnishing a controlled substance to a minor but does not face any assault-related charges.
On Sept. 6, the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department confirmed in an emailed statement that Caluya was arrested on suspicion of kidnapping and sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl and described Abihai as his nephew. The department said Abihai was taken into custody on suspicion of kidnapping the victim but not assaulting her. They were both arrested on Aug. 28.
At the time, the sheriff's department did not mention any drug-related allegations against the men.
On Wednesday, the DA's office made no mention of charges related to kidnapping in the case.
Prosecutors have said Caluya retired from the LA County Sheriff's Department in 2001. When sheriff's officials confirmed Caluya's arrest last month, they did not specify the circumstances of his departure from the agency.
"Benny Caluya separated from the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department in 2001," the LASD statement reads.
Both men pleaded not guilty to the charges on Monday. A preliminary hearing has been set for Nov. 12 in the Michael Antonovich Antelope Valley Courthouse in Lancaster.
Abihai faces up to nine years in prison if convicted of the drug-related charge against him.