Overview
- Garden Grove investigators were notified of possible inappropriate interactions between Officer Roberto Machuca and a juvenile participant in the department’s Explorer program on June 26, according to police statements.
- Authorities arrested Machuca the next morning on June 27 and booked him into the Orange County Jail, with jail records showing he was released the following day.
- The department relieved Machuca of his duties and placed him on administrative leave while both a criminal and internal probe proceed, and officials are withholding further details to protect the juvenile.
- Police say they will turn the file over to the Orange County District Attorney’s Office once their investigation is finished, and they are working with prosecutors during the inquiry.
- The Explorer program is for youth interested in law enforcement and has a minimum age of 14, and the department emphasized youth safety while the inquiry could lead to discipline or criminal charges depending on prosecutorial review.