According to the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, a King County Sheriff’s deputy who oversaw Burien’s Police Explorer Program for teenagers and young adults has been charged with rape.
On May 30, 39-year-old Ricardo Arturo Cueva was charged with one crime of third-degree rape and one count of first-degree sexual misconduct with a minor. He will be released on home monitoring if his $150,000 bail is posted. June 12 is the date of Cueva’s arraignment.
Participants in the nationwide volunteer program must be between the ages of 14 and 21. It gives young people interested in law enforcement the opportunity to learn about the field and help police at events.
Cueva, a King County officer and the head of the Burien Police Department’s Explorer Program, is accused by prosecutors of sexually abusing a program volunteer.
According to records, the alleged incidents took place between September 2017 and September 2018.
The volunteer participated in the program from 2016 to 2019 and was 16 when she first met Cueva.
According to prosecution documents, she said that Cueva was her mentor and that they “grew close.” He also acknowledged loving her during a ride-along in his work car.
Cueva allegedly persuaded the volunteer to have oral sex with him on multiple occasions when she became 17, which prosecutors claim Cueva thought was the age of consent.
According to records, Cueva was in uniform when many of the physical altercations with the volunteer took place inside his King County Sheriff’s car.
Cueva allegedly invited the volunteer to have sex with her at his house twice between 2017 and 2018, when his wife and child were away. According to papers, the volunteer was in pain and requested Cueva to stop, but he refused.
After speaking with a previous Police Explorer participant who is currently a King County deputy in mid-May of this year, the volunteer made the decision to come forward with the accusations.
Cueva turned himself in to the Seattle Police Department on May 30, according to a statement from the King County Sheriff’s Office.
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“He was immediately placed on administrative leave, where he will remain while this matter is under investigation, both by Seattle police and our Internal Investigations Unit,” the department stated.
The King County Sheriff’s Office stated that it “takes any allegations of criminal misconduct very seriously and we will work closely and diligently with our law enforcement partners as this matter unfolds.”
Up until May 30, Cueva’s name and contact details were accessible on the City of Burien website’s Police Explorer Program page.
