UPDATED Wednesday, June 1, 3:01am | Erik Alvarez is seen at right in his April 27 booking photo, which was taken shortly after his arrest.
UPDATE Monday, May 30, 4:56pm | A former Long Beach Police Department detective charged with having sex with a teenage relative appeared in court last Wednesday, when a judge was expected to set a date for a preliminary hearing but instead postponed doing so until next week.
Erik Alvarez, 42, of Upland, is facing one felony count of lewd or lascivious acts with a child 14 or 15 years old and two felony counts of unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor under 18, San Bernardino Deputy District Attorney Karen Schmauss said.
Alvarez was arrested on April 27 and has remained in jail ever since. His bail was set at $250,000.
The LBPD had placed the detective on unpaid administrative leave pending the outcome of the criminal charges and the city’s own internal investigation, but Alvarez soon after his arraignment resigned from his position with the department.
He pleaded not guilty to the charges against him at his arraignment hearing at the beginning of the month in Rancho Cucamonga Superior Court. Just days later, the Press-Telegram reported that Alvarez had dismissed his public defender and hired private criminal defense attorney Brian Skibby.
Schmauss said following the arraignment hearing that victim was 15 when alleged sex crimes began, resulting in first charge of lewd and lascivious acts with a child 14 or 15. Those took place between Jan. 1, 2009, and Dec. 31, 2009. The final two criminal counts stem from years 2010 and 2011, when the victim was 16 and 17, she said.
If Alvarez is convicted on all counts, he faces a maximum of four years and four months in state prison.
The former LBPD detective is allegedly in the midst of a divorce, sources said, and the charges against him stem from accusations made by his soon-to-be ex-wife that he was having sexual relations with her daughter, who is his step-daughter.
Alvarez is scheduled to return to court on June 9, when a preliminary hearing date will be set.
May 4, 9:01am | A Long Beach police detective charged with having a sexual relationship with a female juvenile relative has pleaded not guilty.
Long Beach Police Department Detective Erik Alvarez, 42, entered his plea Monday during an arraignment hearing in San Bernardino County court, San Bernardino County Deputy District Attorney Karen Schmauss told the Press-Telegram.
He is charged with one felony count of lewd or lascivious acts with a child 14 or 15 years old and two felony counts of unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor under 18, Schmauss reportedly said.
The Upland resident was arrested April 27. He reportedly remains in jail with a set bail amount of $250,000.
The PT reports that the first charge against the police detective stems from alleged crimes that allegedly occurred between Jan. 1, 2009 and Dec. 31, 2009, when the victim was 15. The final two charges stem from crimes that allegeldly occurred in 2010 and 2011.
While it was confirmed that Alvarez is on unpaid leave from his LBPD job, he reportedly may have already been terminated.
The LBPD issued the following statement to the PT:
The Long Beach Police Department has been informed of the arrest of a LBPD employee and we are taking this matter, as well as any matter of this nature, very seriously. We will work with the Upland Police Department as they are the agency handling the criminal investigation while the Long Beach Police Department will handle the administrative investigation. The employee is currently on unpaid administrative leave, pending the outcome of these investigations.
But prosecutors reportedly said that the LBPD has already fired Alvarez, and an LBPD employee with the Youth Services Section told the PT that Alvarez was no longer with the department.