SFPD Officer Appears In Court On Child Molestation, Pornography Charges
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) - A San Francisco police officer appeared in Contra Costa County Superior Court in Martinez Friday on charges that he molested a 15-year-old boy in Concord and kept child pornography.
Prosecutors last week charged 38-year-old Richard Hastings with nine felony counts of lewd and lascivious acts on a 15-year-old child and one felony count of possession of child pornography.
He turned himself in on an arrest warrant Tuesday at the county jail in Martinez, where he is being held on $910,000 bail, according to Deputy District Attorney Alison Chandler.
Chandler said the alleged molestation occurred between last June and August, but she declined to provide further details about the case.
Hastings was arrested in Concord on Aug. 21 on suspicion of child molestation after police launched an investigation into the allegations. He was later released on bail and prosecutors initially declined to file charges against him pending further investigation.
The San Francisco Police Department, where Hastings has worked since 2001, immediately suspended him without pay following his arrest, according to a San Francisco police spokesman.
Hastings is set to return to court on Monday for a bail hearing and arraignment.
Eileen Burke, a private attorney, said Friday that she expects to represent him.
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