The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office announced charges Thursday filed at the Santa Clarita courthouse alleging six misdemeanor counts against a Los Angeles Police Department officer accused of violating the state’s “revenge porn” law.
Officer Brady Lamas, 44, of Santa Clarita, has been “assigned home” since Jan. 31, an LAPD official said Thursday. The designation refers to the status assigned to an officer “when the department is trying to determine what they’re going to do with the person at that time,” said Officer Warren Moore of the department’s Media Relations Division.
Specifically, Lamas is charged with a half-dozen violations of California Penal Code 647(J)(4), which refer to “a person who intentionally distributes the image of the intimate body part or parts of another identifiable person … in which the person depicted participates, under circumstances in which the persons agree or understand that the image shall remain private, the person distributing the image knows or should know that distribution of the image will cause serious emotional distress and the person depicted suffers that distress,” according to the statute.
“Between December 2021 and January 2022, Lamas is accused of sending intimate photos to others, including fellow officers,” according to the statement issued by the DA’s office.
A number of reports have indicated the victim is the officer’s wife. The District Attorney’s Office has not yet responded to a request for the criminal complaint filed Dec. 13.
Court records indicate Lamas’ wife separated from the officer on Jan. 30, citing “irreconcilable differences” in a petition to dissolve their marriage filed Feb. 4. The Signal does not generally identify the victims of a crime in such instances.
“The conduct alleged in this case can cause lasting emotional distress. No one should be subjected to these cruel and invasive actions,” District Attorney George Gascón said in a statement Thursday. “As a law enforcement officer who encounters victims each day, he should know the trauma that is caused when someone’s privacy is violated.”
Lamas is scheduled to be arraigned Dec. 20 in Valencia.