Former officer arrested in connection with sex crimes

Danette Goulet

COSTA MESA -- A former Long Beach police officer is facing several

charges of lewd sexual acts with a child after he allegedly lured a

14-year-old boy to his Costa Mesa apartment via the Internet, police

said.

Michael McDonald, 60, is being held on $150,000 bail after being

arrested Friday, said Lt. Dale Birney of the Costa Mesa Police

Department.

An investigation began three to four months ago in El Dorado County in

Northern California, where the victim lives, Birney said. The boy’s

parents reported they had found correspondence on their computer.

Police allege that McDonald befriended the boy via the Internet

sometime late last year, police said. During the course of several

months, multiple meetings between the victim and McDonald were arranged

in Costa Mesa, police said.

It was on these trips that the lewd acts took place, Birney said.

Following information from the victim’s family, El Dorado deputies

came to Costa Mesa on Friday to ask local police to accompany them as

they went to question McDonald.

“El Dorado deputies wanted to contact him to ask questions relating to

the incident and found the victim also in the apartment,” Birney said.

“So, they spoke with McDonald for a while and, based on the totality,

placed him under arrest.”

McDonald is expected to be arraigned this morning at Harbor Justice

Center in Newport Beach.

If convicted, McDonald could face anywhere from three to nine years in

prison for each count of lewd sexual acts, Birney said.

Long Beach police could not immediately provide information about

McDonald’s history with the department.