Suspended Simi Valley Policeman : Officer Charged With Molesting Scout

Prosecutors filed sexual battery charges Wednesday against a 32-year-old Simi Valley police officer accused of sexually molesting a female Explorer Scout half his age more than a year ago.

Timothy Campbell, a five-year veteran of the force, has been suspended with pay pending the outcome of the criminal proceedings, Simi Valley Police Lt. Don Austin said.

Campbell is charged with one count of sexual battery and one count of sexual battery with a minor, said Ventura County Deputy Dist. Atty. Charles W. Campbell Jr., who is not related to the police officer. Sexual battery is defined as forced penetration short of intercourse.

The accused officer is to surrender to authorities Thursday morning in Ventura Municipal Court, where he will face arraignment, the prosecutor said, adding that bail will not be sought.

Campbell denied the charges through his lawyer, William J. Hadden. Hadden said he would not comment further because he knows little about the prosecution’s evidence against his client.

Campbell, a Simi Valley resident, was assigned to the Police Department’s administrative operations section, where he was in charge of officer training procedures, Austin said.

Scout Now 17

Charles Campbell, the prosecutor, said the sexual acts with the Scout, who has turned 17 since the Dec. 10, 1985, incident, took place in the home of a third person, who was not identified. He would not elaborate.

Timothy Campbell was not charged with rape, the prosecutor said, because the state is “not alleging that it was done by force.”

“Consent means full exercise of her free will, and I’m not saying that’s what this was,” he said.

The girl was one of up to 20 Explorer Scouts who observe law-enforcement work and help with clerical jobs at the police station, police said.

Charles Campbell would not disclose how the investigation began. Police spokesman Lt. Rick TerBorch was unavailable for comment Wednesday, but, in an interview last week, he said, “Nobody came to us. . . . The department discovered the allegation and the department initiated the investigation.”

Police also are investigating two other officers to determine whether they had an improper relationship with the same girl, TerBorch said. That investigation, which is not related to the criminal investigation of Officer Campbell, could lead to disciplinary measures against the officers, he said.

One of those officers remains on duty and the other has been assigned to his home pending the completion of the investigation, Austin said.