Officer and Deputy Accused of Sex Crimes With Minors

Two law enforcement officers working in Los Angeles County face charges of illegal conduct with underage girls in unrelated cases, Orange County prosecutors said Thursday.

Frank Ricci, a 30-year-old Los Angeles Police Department officer who lives in Mission Viejo, pleaded not guilty to committing a lewd act on a child and attempting another such act, both felonies. The alleged acts occurred with a 15-year-old girl he knew and involved sexual touching, said Deputy Dist. Atty. Jana Hoffman, who declined to give additional details.

Ricci could not be reached for comment. He will be in court next on Nov. 12 for a pretrial hearing.

Also on Thursday, Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Deputy Tony V. Scaffide, 34, of Yorba Linda was charged with nine misdemeanor counts of child annoyance.

Prosecutors said Scaffide, who works for the department’s gang enforcement team, had multiple phone and Internet conversations of a sexual nature with undercover officers posing as 15-year-old girls.

Authorities in Ohio first found Scaffide in Internet chat rooms and forwarded the case to law enforcement in California, said Mark Macaulay, a spokesman for the district attorney’s office.

Scaffide could not be reached for comment. He is set to be arraigned Nov. 15.