CHP Officer Arrested on Indecent Exposure Charges

A rookie California Highway Patrol officer has been arrested on charges of exposing himself to women and children in the Canyon Country area while posing as a motorist in distress, CHP officials said Tuesday.

Officer Adam L. Hieb, 26, was charged with 13 misdemeanor counts of indecent exposure and annoying children, some of whom he encountered walking to or from a high school, the CHP said. He was off duty at the time and drove his personal car.

Officials said Hieb, who graduated from the CHP academy less than a year ago, typically would cruise neighborhoods near the school, spot a woman or teenage girl, pull to the curb and ask for help, authorities alleged. When they approached his car, the victims saw Hieb wore no trousers and was masturbating, CHP and Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department officers said.

CHP Commissioner D.O. “Spike” Helmick said a witness to one alleged incident reported the car’s license plate number to the Sheriff’s Department, which traced it to Hieb. He was identified from photographs and arrested Friday, according to Sheriff’s Det. Eric Lasko, who said investigators believed Hieb may have been involved in other unreported incidents.

Helmick said he was preparing to fire Hieb on Monday but the officer resigned before he could do so. Hieb’s bail was set at $520,000, the CHP said.