State to Probe Sex Assault Allegation Against Sheriff
The state attorney general’s office said Tuesday that it would investigate an allegation that Orange County Sheriff Michael S. Carona sexually assaulted a relative of a former assistant sheriff.
Carona denied the accusation and asked Atty. Gen. Bill Lockyer to investigate Erica Hill’s assertion that she gave in to the sheriff’s sexual advances to help her husband land a job with the Sheriff’s Department.
For the record:
12:00 a.m. Sept. 28, 2005 For The Record
Los Angeles Times Wednesday September 28, 2005 Home Edition Main News Part A Page 2 National Desk 2 inches; 63 words Type of Material: Correction
Harassment allegations -- An article in the Sept. 21 California section about the state attorney general’s office saying it would investigate sexual assault and harassment accusations against Orange County Sheriff Michael S. Carona said that Carona denied the accusations in testimony before the county grand jury. Although he has denied them, transcripts show he was not asked about them by the grand jury.
“At the sheriff’s request, we will look into this,” said Nathan Barankin, a spokesman for the attorney general.
Hill, a sister-in-law of fired Assistant Sheriff George Jaramillo and a key figure in a corruption case in which Jaramillo is charged, had asked the county Board of Supervisors for an inquiry into her allegation, but the county counsel said county officials were the wrong ones to ask. Hill had since hired high-profile attorney Mark Geragos in exploring her legal options.
Geragos represented Scott Peterson, who was sentenced to death for killing his pregnant wife, and celebrities fighting criminal charges, including actress Wynona Ryder and, briefly, singer Michael Jackson.
“Obviously, we’re gratified they’re going to investigate the situation,” Geragos said, “and we’re confident they’re going to confirm everything Erica has said. And we will cooperate fully in the investigation.”
Hill’s accusation is an elaboration on testimony she gave this summer to the Orange County Grand Jury, which was investigating the corruption case against Jaramillo, whom Carona fired last year and who was later indicted on bribery and conflict-of-interest charges. He has pleaded not guilty.
During that testimony, she said she had had sex with Carona during his first term in office, according to more recently unsealed testimony. Carona, also during grand jury testimony, denied that sex occurred.
In an interview about her accusation and testimony, Hill told The Times she had had sex with Carona four times, from 1999 to 2001, and that she gave in to his advances after he said he would not hire her husband as a deputy if she didn’t have sex with him.
Her husband, a warehouse worker from whom she is now separated, was never employed by the department.
Carona has “absolutely and categorically” denied Hill’s allegation and appeared on several TV news programs last week promising to ask Lockyer to investigate.
The letter to the attorney general, copied to the county Board of Supervisors, includes a copy of the Times article about the allegation and asks Lockyer to evaluate Hill’s statements “and initiate whatever investigation you deem appropriate.”
“These allegations are patently false,” Carona wrote. “Moreover, I am advised that they are not of a criminal nature. I recognize that allegations of this type may not normally be investigated by your office.” The letter didn’t explain how sexual assault could be considered noncriminal.
Carona also included Hill’s two-page letter to the Board of Supervisors, which she had already faxed to Lockyer.
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