Higher Bail Sought for Accused Officer

Orange County prosecutors asked a Superior Court judge Tuesday to increase bail for a Huntington Beach police officer accused of molestation, calling the officer a flight risk.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Matt Murphy suggested that Officer Mark Trachman’s bail be set at $250,000, a standard amount for murder suspects.

Judge Andrew P. Banks postponed ruling on the request until next Wednesday, and instead ordered that Trachman surrender his passport and wear an electronic monitoring device if he posts bail, now set at $150,000.

Trachman, 36, appeared in court Tuesday for the first time since he was charged last week with fondling a 14-year-old girl during a police interview at her home.

Wearing an orange jumpsuit, the officer stood hidden from view behind a blackened glass screen in the courtroom as his attorney entered a plea of not guilty on his behalf.

Trachman faces four felony counts of performing lewd acts on a child, charges that carry a maximum sentence of five years in prison.

Authorities learned of the allegations May 22, when the girl’s parents called Huntington Beach police to complain about Trachman’s visit to their home the day before.

Prosecutors allege that Trachman persuaded the girl to take off clothing, then fondled her and asked her to touch herself when he was supposed to be taking a crime report.

Trachman, who joined the Police Department two years ago after working as an officer in Los Angeles, failed to obey an order that he surrender Friday, authorities said.

Sheriff’s deputies found him Sunday at a Chino Hills psychiatric hospital after an anonymous tipster said the officer had checked himself in for depression. According to a Sheriff’s Department news release, Trachman used an alias in the hospital.