Former Garden Grove Police Officer Charged with Multiple Felonies in Connection with Illegal Sexual Relationship with 16-year-old Female Police Explorer

Former Garden Grove Police Officer Charged with Multiple Felonies in Connection
with Illegal Sexual Relationship with 16-year-old Female Police Explorer

SANTA ANA - A former Garden Grove police officer has been charged with multiple felonies in connection with an illegal sexual relationship he had with a 16-year-old Garden Grove female police explorer. The officer is no longer employed by the Garden Grove Police Department.

Roberto Machuca, 32, of Riverside, has been charged with three felony counts of unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor more than three years younger than him, one felony count of sexual penetration by a foreign object of a minor, and one felony count of oral copulation with a minor. He faces a maximum sentence of five years in state prison, and he would be required to register as a sex offender for 10 years if convicted on all charges.

Machuca worked for the Garden Grove Police Department as a police officer since 2018 and is a former advisor for the department's Explorer Program, which provides people between the ages of 14 and 21 an opportunity to volunteer at the police department and learn about law enforcement careers.

Machuca turned himself in on July 28, 2026, and pleaded not guilty to all charges. An Orange County Superior Court judge set his bail at $100,000, and he was ordered to surrender all firearms along with his passport. He is scheduled to appear for a pretrial hearing at the Stephen K. Tamura West Justice Center in Westminster on August 4, 2026, in Department W12.

On June 26, 2026, the Garden Grove Police Department was made aware of an inappropriate relationship between Machuca and a 16-year-old explorer, and Machuca was put on leave and arrested when he showed up to his shift the next day.

Machuca is accused of having several sexual encounters with the teenage girl beginning in May 2026.

"Law enforcement officers occupy a position of immense trust, and he exploited that trust to take advantage of a child for his own sexual gratification," said Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer. "That conduct will never be tolerated among the ranks of those sworn to protect and serve, and justice will be pursued to the fullest extent."

Senior Deputy District Attorney Jeff Moore of the Homicide Unit is prosecuting this case.

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