L.A. Sheriff’s Officer Accused of Molestation

A Los Angeles County sheriff’s sergeant and Antelope Valley school board member was arrested Friday after a 14-year-old girl accused him of molesting her, authorities said.

Sgt. Kevin Wright Carney, 48, of Palmdale, was arrested by deputies and booked at the sheriff’s station in Lancaster, authorities said.

A 23-year veteran of the department who once supervised the sheriff’s child-abuse detail for the Antelope and Santa Clarita valleys, Carney is also a candidate in next week’s Palmdale City Council race, officials said.

Sheriff’s officials said they do not believe the allegations are linked to Tuesday’s election, in which Carney is seeking one of two four-year term council seats.

Deputies were tipped to the case when the teenage girl went to the Lancaster station Thursday night, said Capt. Doyle Campbell of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Headquarters Bureau in L.A. The alleged victim is an acquaintance of the Carney family and the incident is alleged to have occurred when Carney, who works at the Lancaster station, was off duty, Campbell said.

Deputies declined to release other details on the case. “At this point, there is adequate information and it is verifiable enough to conclude in his arrest,” Campbell said.

Carney faced similar allegations about 2 1/2 years ago, Campbell said. After complaints from two young females, the district attorney’s office investigated but did not file charges, he said. A sheriff’s internal investigation also was unable to substantiate the claims, Campbell said. Other details on that investigation were not available Friday.

Carney, who served last year as board president of the Antelope Valley Union High School District, is being held at the sheriff’s Inmate Reception Center in Los Angeles on $100,000 bail.

His wife declined to be interviewed.

School board President Wilda Andrejcik described Carney as a conscientious school board member who “always did his homework.”

“He’s worked on the school board for four years, and this year he determined he would run for City Council,” she said. Carney’s school board term ends in December.

In November 1997, Carney made an unsuccessful bid for mayor of Palmdale, running against the incumbent and one other candidate.

Carney transferred to the Lancaster station in late 1996 or early 1997 after serving as supervisor of the sheriff’s child-abuse detail for the Antelope and Santa Clarita valleys, officials said.

“He’s an excellent neighbor,” said a woman who lives near Carney and who asked not to be identified. “He’s a good friend. My kids love him and respect him.”

Carney’s arrest is the second case this month involving a Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputy from the Antelope Valley and a teenage girl.

On Oct. 8, patrol Deputy Steven Brown of the sheriff’s station in Palmdale was arrested in West Los Angeles after allegedly sending an undercover FBI agent, who posed as eighth-grader “Laura,” a sexually explicit photo and suggesting a tryst at a hotel.

Brown, 41, accused of using the Internet to meet someone he believed to be a 13-year-old girl for sex, pleaded not guilty Monday. Brown’s trial is set for Dec. 14 and he is being held without bail at the Metropolitan Detention Center.

Campbell said Carney’s arrest does not appear to be linked to Brown’s case.

“They will investigate all angles of this, but at this point there’s no connection or correlation to that,” Campbell said.