A California cop who was heralded as “Detective of the Year” just three years ago has been charged with sending sexually explicit messages to someone he thought was a teenage girl, authorities said.
Santa Ana Police Detective Gregory Daniel Beaumarchais, 43, is facing a misdemeanor charge of annoying or molesting a victim believed to be under the age of 18, Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer said.
“Police officers are entrusted with the sacred responsibility to safeguard society from harm,” the prosecutor said in a statement. “It is beyond disturbing that a sworn police officer would engage in inappropriate conversations with someone he believed to be a child. Our children should not have to worry about being preyed upon by the very people we teach them who are there to protect them.”
Beaumarchais allegedly exchanged sexually explicit social media messages with a civilian posing as a 14-year-old girl between December 2021 and January 2022. The sexually graphic messages were often sent while Beaumarchais was on duty, Orange County District Attorney’s Office spokesperson Kimberly Edds told the New York Post.
When his social media provider barred him, Beaumarchais allegedly created another account under a similar user name, Edds said.
The civilian who posed as a young girl contacted the non-profit organization Orange County Crime Stoppers and reported the alleged criminality.
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