SANTA ANA — A 15-year veteran patrol officer with the Santa Ana Police Department was charged Friday with felony assault, sexual battery and false imprisonment of a woman he detained while on duty in January.
Michael Cabrera, 38, of Orange was ordered to appear in court on Monday for arraignment on the charges.
Deputy Dist. Atty. Camille Hall would not provide details of the incident, and the woman who made the complaint was referred to as "Jane Doe" in court papers. But according to one of the charges filed, Cabrera "unlawfully touch(ed) an intimate part" of the woman while she was being "unlawfully restrained" in what Hall described as "a field contact."
Another count charges that Cabrera "did willfully and unlawfully assault and batter Jane Doe under cover of authority and without lawful necessity."
Neither Cabrera nor his attorney, John Charles McCann, could not be reached for comment Friday.
If convicted of the three charges, Cabrera faces a maximum of four years in prison, Hall said.
Cabrera has been on paid, administrative leave for about a month, and will remain on that status until the Police Department's internal investigation is completed, Lt. Robert Helton said.
