Accused Officer Is Still at Large

Authorities Saturday expressed hope that a Huntington Beach police officer accused of fondling a 14-year-old girl would turn himself in.

After the Orange County district attorney filed charges of lewd conduct with a child, a Huntington Beach police official called Mark Trachman at his Riverside County home at 1 p.m. Friday and ordered him to come to the station, Lt. Dan Johnson said.

When he didn’t show up, Orange County sheriff’s deputies went searching for him.

Trachman, 36, was taking a crime report from the 14-year-old when the alleged molestation took place.

He has been charged with four felony counts of performing a lewd act on a child. Bail has been set at $50,000.

Trachman was dispatched to interview the girl at her home while he was on patrol in late March. . They talked in her dining room, and Trachman told the girl he needed to perform a physical examination, authorities said. She disrobed, and he allegedly fondled her.

The girl’s parents complained to Huntington Beach police Tuesday, and Trachman was placed on administrative leave.

Johnson said the officer’s refusal to come to the station when ordered was insubordination. “We may be able to fire him just for that,” he said.