04/26/17

IRWINDALE, CA — Officer Daniel R. Camerano has been charged with six felony counts involving sexual abuse of an underage girl, according to reports.

The girl had been part of the the department’s Youth Explorer Program when the abuse is said to have occurred.

When the allegations surfaced, Officer Camerano was given leave, after which he resigned.

He was then arrested on June 11, 2014.

Some of the charges include using a minor for sex acts, oral copulation of a person under 16, and sexual penetration by a foreign object.

He was facing a maximum sentence of only five years and four months in prison, reports say.

But rather than serving that time, he was offered a plea deal that allowed him to plead no contest to some of the charges and in exchange he was sentenced to two years and eight months, while registering as a sex offender.

Meanwhile, the girl filed a lawsuit against the City of Irwindale, and it was finalized this month.

Her attorney, Anthony DeMarco, suggested that the department failed to prevent Officer Camerano’s access to minors despite knowing about complaints of sexual abuse.

“Evidence was uncovered that police department officials were aware of complaints that Camerano was sexually abusing the underage female Explorer, but did not stop his access to and, thus, continued abuse of the girl,” Demarco said.

“The abuse of my client occurred because of a culture of acceptance of sexual abuse and harassment of girls and women that was allowed to persist in the Irwindale police department. She, like others, was forced to endure sexual abuse and harassment in silence or risk losing her dream of a career in law enforcement,” he said.

The City reached a settlement of $2.75 million with the girl, which will be paid by taxpayers in California, according to reports.