SIMI VALLEY : City Upholds Firing of Police Officer

The city of Simi Valley has upheld the firing of a police officer who had an ongoing sexual relationship with a 17-year-old Explorer Scout, despite a state mediator’s recommendation that the officer be rehired.

Kevin Medley, 35, will remain off the force, City Manager Lin Koester said.

“Generally speaking, when work standards are violated, employees are disciplined, which could include discharge from duty,” Koester said Tuesday. However, Koester declined to discuss the case further because it is a personnel matter and may involve further litigation.

Simi Valley Police Chief Lindsey P. Miller also declined to comment.

Medley, who served three years before he was fired Nov. 5, could not be reached for comment Wednesday, but his attorney said he plans to appeal the firing in Ventura County Superior Court.

“He enjoyed being a police officer and didn’t feel he had done anything he should be removed for,” said Darryl E. Mounger, Medley’s attorney. “He had a reasonable belief that she was of the age of majority. They never discussed her age.”

The girl, who is now 18, married Medley in Las Vegas on Oct. 17, with her parents serving as witnesses.

The Ventura County district attorney’s office contemplated prosecuting Medley last fall but decided against it, primarily because the girl and her family were not willing to testify against him.

Medley and the girl met through the Explorer Scout program, which gives youths ages 14 to 20 a background in law enforcement that could lead to a career.

The department fired two officers in 1987 after reports that they had sexual relations with a 16-year-old Explorer Scout.