Officer Allegedly Fondled Girl, 14

Orange County prosecutors filed criminal charges Friday against a Huntington Beach police officer accused of fondling a 14-year-old girl during an interview at her home, authorities said.

Mark Trachman, who was supposed to take an unspecified crime report from the girl, also persuaded the teenager to remove her underwear and then asked her to fondle herself, said Tori Richards, spokeswoman for the district attorney’s office.

Trachman, 36, could not be reached for comment. As of late Friday, Orange County sheriff’s deputies who were to arrest the officer had been unable to find him, authorities said.

Prosecutors charged the officer with four felony counts of performing a lewd act on a child and asked that he be held in lieu of $50,000 once he’s arrested. If convicted, Trachman could receive up to five years in prison.

The announcement of the criminal charges came as a blow to colleagues and city employees.

“The officers are in shock,” Huntington Beach Police Lt. Chuck Thomas said. “You want to believe that it’s not true.”

City officials also reacted with dismay but warned against passing judgment on the officer or the department at this point.

“I think any time there’s allegations it’s disappointing,” City Administrator Ray Silver said. “But there is a legal system that these things go through. And the person is innocent until proven guilty.”

Trachman joined the Huntington Beach force two years ago after spending three years as a Los Angeles police officer. Once in Orange County, he was assigned to the city’s patrol division.

While on patrol two months ago, Trachman was assigned to interview the 14-year-old at her Huntington Beach home. Authorities would not elaborate on the crime he was investigating, other than to say the girl was the victim.

The officer interviewed the teenager at length in her dining room, and it was there that he asked her to undress, Richards said.

“The basis of these charges is that he convinced the victim that he needed to do a physical examination of her in which he fondled her, and he had her partially disrobe,” Richards said.

On Tuesday, the girl’s parents called Huntington Beach police to complain about the officer, authorities said. The department immediately placed Trachman on paid administrative leave.

Police officials then asked the Sheriff’s Department to investigate the allegations. Meanwhile, police began an internal affairs investigation to determine if the officer should be disciplined or fired.

Thomas said Trachman passed a rigorous background check before he was hired. Police officials will review that check to determine whether anything was overlooked, he said.

A Times check of court records shows Trachman was cited for minor traffic violations between 1989 and 1992.

Police appealed for anyone with information about the incident to call Sheriff’s investigators at (714) 647-7419.

“Our concern is that there may be other people out there who may have information about this,” Thomas said.