Officer Indicted in On-Duty Molestation

A Los Angeles Police Department officer has been indicted by a grand jury on charges of sexually molesting two women while responding to domestic disturbance calls, according to the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office.

Officer Michael Kapalungan allegedly fondled the women -- a domestic violence victim and an undercover police officer posing as one -- while on duty and while his partner was out of sight.

“These charges are extremely serious,” Deputy Dist. Atty. Valerie Aenlle-Rocha said Wednesday after the indictment was unsealed. Kapalungan took advantage of a woman who was extremely vulnerable, the prosecutor said.

The use of sting operations in internal LAPD investigations has increased in the last year, authorities said. Last month, a captain and 28-year veteran was arrested after a sting in which she allegedly sold counterfeit DVDs to undercover officers.

Kapalungan, 31, pleaded not guilty in Los Angeles County Superior Court on Wednesday and posted $95,000 bail. The seven-year veteran, who had been assigned to the Foothill Division, is suspended from duty, according to the department’s professional standards bureau. He is not believed to have any prior disciplinary record.

The officer faces two felony charges of sexual battery by fraud, one misdemeanor charge of battery and one misdemeanor charge of sexual battery. Kapalungan, who lives in Pacoima, could be sentenced to six years in prison.

In the first case, he responded to a domestic disturbance call July 27, during which he allegedly fondled the first woman and exposed himself to her. She was intoxicated at the time, authorities said.

Officer Ed Funes said the department learned of the allegations after the woman was arrested by the officer and sent to County Jail. At the jail, she complained to deputies that the officer had sexually assaulted her during her arrest, Funes said. The information led the professional standards bureau, formerly known as internal affairs, to begin an investigation Aug. 12.

Police staged an undercover investigation Sept. 30. A female undercover officer working for the bureau posed as a victim of domestic violence and pretended to be drunk.

While being videotaped, Kapalungan fondled one of the undercover officer’s breasts, authorities said. He also was videotaped pushing her down on the bed, kissing her and stroking her body, they said.

“The officer committed the same kind of act on the undercover officer” as on the previous victim, Funes said. Kapalungan was suspended Oct. 1, he said.

In both cases, Kapalungan “was careful to do it while his partner wasn’t around,” said district attorney’s spokeswoman Jane Robison.

Funes said investigators are going back over the officer’s logs and division records. “They are searching for other potential victims,” Funes said.

The prosecutor said the crimes were very serious because they were allegedly committed by an officer in a position of trust who was responsible for helping people.

Nine witnesses, including both women, were called to testify before the Los Angeles County Grand Jury.

Grand jurors returned the indictment Tuesday, and Kapalungan surrendered to authorities Wednesday.

His family attended the arraignment in a downtown Los Angeles courtroom. They declined to comment. Defense attorney Ted Smith, who is representing the officer, said he had not seen any of the evidence.

“He’s presumed innocent at this time,” Smith said. “There are no facts of guilt.”

Aenlle-Rocha said the investigation into Kapalungan is continuing. The officer is scheduled to return to court Feb. 10.