Former Riverside County deputy sued by sexual assault accuser – Orange County Register

A former Riverside County sheriff accused of sexually assaulting three women now faces a civil lawsuit alleging he violated the civil rights of one of his accusers.

The lawsuit, filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Riverside, names Michael Dean, 58, of Norco and Riverside County as the defendant. Southern California News Group does not release the names of the victims or alleged victims of sexual assault.

Dean was arrested in April 2021 and allegedly sexually assaulted a woman on June 9, 2020 and two people, including the plaintiff, on February 19, 2019, while he was on active duty. He was charged with two counts of sexual penetration by force, violence and fear, and one count of sexual penetration of a foreign body against an intoxicated person.

On February 19, 2019, Dean, according to the lawsuit, answered an emergency call at the plaintiff’s home in Moreno Valley. She was under the influence of recreational marijuana, went through a “sense and psychotic episode” and undressed in the front yard outside her home.

Dean walks into the woman’s house and finds her naked. He told her to lie down on the couch and “assured the plaintiff that he was there to help her.” He grabbed an object and told the woman she could calm down if she put the object inside her, then sexually assaulted her until she lost consciousness, according to the complaint. to sue.

“These atrocities were committed against the will of the plaintiff and without her consent while she was in and out of consciousness,” according to the lawsuit.

Dean, according to the lawsuit, also took pictures of the woman on his personal cell phone during the alleged sexual assault and those photos were later discovered by the sheriff’s investigator.

Paramedics went to the woman’s home after the alleged sexual assault and took her to Riverside University Health System Medical Center, where she was stabilized. According to the lawsuit, she was never provided with an incident report from the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department, nor any information about who answered the call to her home.

It was not until November 16, 2020, that the woman learned of Dean’s identity through a phone call she received from an investigator at the Sheriff’s Department who advised her about the photos that she had taken. he found on Dean’s cell phone.

“Investigators advised plaintiff that on February 19, 2019, Riverside County Deputy Sheriff Michael Dean photographed her while she was unconscious on the couch,” according to the lawsuit.

In another incident on June 9, 2020, Dean answered a domestic violence call in Moreno Valley, where a 27-year-old woman was assaulted by her boyfriend. According to the sheriff’s investigator, the victim told Dean she wanted to go to Arizona to get out of an abusive relationship, and Dean agreed to drive her to a bus stop in Perris.

However, a satellite tracking system in Dean’s patrol car showed him stopping for the first time in four minutes on Rivard Road in the Moreno Valley. A statement from the sheriff’s investigator said the woman taped the entire 25-minute ride, during which Dean encouraged her to sexually arouse herself while in a patrol car.

Riverside County spokeswoman Brooke Federico said in an email that Dean no longer works for the county, which has yet to be served with the lawsuit and does not comment on litigation. She stated, “All employees are subject to high professional and legal standards that reflect our mission, which is to be responsible for the trust, safety, and welfare of the public. ”

Dean faces up to 24 years in prison if convicted on all counts. He remains on bail and will appear in court March 4 to attend a felony resolution conference, a spokesman for district attorney John Hall said.

Dean could not be reached for comment. His attorney, Jeff Moore, did not respond to a request for comment.