Ex-Deputy Ordered to Stand Trial in Rape Case

A former elementary school teacher and sheriff’s deputy was ordered Monday to stand trial on suspicion of raping one woman and sexually assaulting two others over a 3 1/2-year time span.

Edward Keith Culhane, 35, of Santa Clarita is accused of raping a then 17-year-old girl in June, 1990, when he was a Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputy. Prosecutors contend that Culhane gained the girl’s trust by befriending her after a traffic stop and offering to help her write a college paper.

He also is charged with sexually assaulting his 19-year-old baby-sitter in early 1992--shortly after he left the Sheriff’s Department--and a 44-year-old co-worker at Santa Clarita Elementary School in November, 1993.

Testimony during a preliminary hearing Monday in Newhall Municipal Court portrayed Culhane as a sexual predator who gained the trust of his alleged victims but was ruthless afterward. Police said both teen-age victims refused to report their encounters with Culhane at first because of his experience as a deputy.

The 17-year-old was too frightened to fight him off during the alleged rape, Detective Jerry Johnson of the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station testified.

“At one point, she was shaking and crying so bad he stopped and said, ‘What’s the matter with you? Don’t act like a foolish schoolgirl. Loosen up,’ ” Johnson said.

Culhane, free on $50,000 bail, declined to comment about the case after the hearing.

He was a sheriff’s deputy from January, 1982, until August, 1991, retiring from the department after several complaints against him of sexual misconduct.

The complaints, including the alleged rape of the college student, were investigated by the department’s Internal Affairs Bureau. Officials said the retirement was part of an agreement to allow Culhane to leave the department without criminal charges being filed. The agreement paid him a settlement at the same time for a work-related injury.

Accusations against Culhane became public this spring when a teacher accused him of sexually assaulting her in a classroom where he taught fifth-grade students. The woman testified Monday that she was on friendly terms with Culhane until the alleged incident on Nov. 5, 1993, during his first semester as a teacher.

She said she went to his classroom to get a map and talked with him for about 30 minutes before she tried to leave and was unexpectedly grabbed, fondled and sexually assaulted.

The teacher said she reported the incident to Sulphur Springs Union School District officials a few days afterward, and to the Sheriff’s Department in January when she felt the district had not taken suitable action against him.

District officials said they took disciplinary action after the teacher’s initial complaint and terminated Culhane following his arrest.

The district was unaware of the previous allegations against Culhane when they hired him, and the Sheriff’s Department was forbidden from disclosing them, according to officials with both agencies.

Sheriff’s detectives testified that they learned about Culhane’s previous alleged assaults from other department officials while investigating the teacher’s claims.