A Los Angeles Police Department officer is due in court on Tuesday, where he will face charges of performing lewd acts with minors inside his Castaic home.

Officer Miguel Schiappapietra, 28, was arrested on Saturday at his home and charged with two counts of lewd acts with a child. He was held on $100,000 bail.

According to police, Schiappapietra lured two young girls, both under the age of 10, into his home and molested them. The LAPD provided no other details on the actual assaults, or whether there was any prior relationship between Schiappapietra and the girls. Schiappapietra had only been living in the neighborhood for just over a month.

The LAPD says that he has been placed on paid administrative leave pending both the criminal investigation and an internal investigation. Schiappapietra has been a member of the LAPD for 6 years.

Stories of child abuse are always hard to stomach, but they’re even more terrible when the alleged perpetrator holds a position of power – especially one whose job is to protect.

[via LA Times]