New Allegations Against LAPD Officer

Suspended Los Angeles Deputy Police Chief David Kalish has been accused of molesting a second youth when he was a supervisor in the department’s Explorer Scout program for boys in the San Fernando Valley, according to a civil complaint filed against the city.

The man who filed the complaint, identified only as John Doe, alleged that Kalish “sexually molested, harassed, assaulted, fondled and coerced” him between 1974 and 1979 while he was an Explorer Scout in the LAPD’s Devonshire Division.

The man alleged that he suffered “severe emotional distress” after the city failed to adequately supervise Kalish. He claims that the city should have taken reasonable steps to protect him while he was an Explorer Scout.

Kalish, 49, was relieved of his duties March 29 after investigators asked prosecutors to consider criminal charges based on a similar claim of abuse filed in October by another former Explorer Scout. At the time, Police Chief William J. Bratton said investigators had found “substance” to allegations of sexual misconduct.

An attorney for Kalish did not return calls.

The latest claim comes as the police investigation has been undermined by a U.S. Supreme Court decision last week that struck down a California law that allowed prosecutors to file new charges based on old incidents of suspected abuse.

The justices found the law unconstitutional because it waived the statute of limitations in sexual abuse cases.

All the public allegations made to date against Kalish involve incidents prior to 1988; under the Supreme Court ruling, prosecutors say, criminal charges may not be filed in connection with any crimes before that date.

“He was in the Explorer program at the same time as the first victim who came forward,” said Todd A. Walburg, an Oakland attorney who also represents the original claimant. “This victim was subject to similar pattern of conduct where the abuse was even more egregious.”

At the time of the alleged incidents, Kalish held the rank of officer. The second man, who lives in another state, contacted Walburg after he heard about the first claim against Kalish and the city, the attorney said. The man had already been questioned by the LAPD, Walburg said.

Walburg stepped up pursuit of the civil claims as his clients learned of the Supreme Court decision’s impact on the criminal investigation. After the ruling, Walburg alleged, an attorney for Kalish called and asked if prosecutors would drop the charges against his client. “The criminal case against Kalish appears to be over,” Walburg said. “Needless to say, both clients were very upset about the Supreme Court decision.”

The district attorney’s office declined to comment but has said that some 200 prosecutions and ongoing cases are affected by the ruling.