Former Orange County executive pleads guilty to sexual misconduct

A former Orange County executive pleaded guilty Friday to charges that included grand theft and attempted sexual battery more than three years after his arrest.

Carlos Bustamante, a former Santa Ana city councilman, was convicted of sexually assaulting subordinates and of committing grand theft of public funds. The Santa Ana resident pleaded guilty to felony counts of attempted sexual battery by restraint, stalking and grand theft, as well as misdemeanor counts that included false imprisonment and assault.

He is expected to be sentenced to one year in jail, five years of formal probation, restitution and a mandatory lifetime sex offender registration, according to the Orange County district attorney’s office.

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“I want to thank all victims and witnesses that bravely came forward in the face of fear and retaliation from a well-connected politician,” Orange County Dist. Atty. Tony Rackauckas said in a statement. “No one is above the law, especially those who abuse their power of authority over their subordinates to sexually assault and harass them.”

Prosecutors allege that Bustamante, arrested in July 2012, victimized five women between 2009 and 2011 while working at the Orange County Public Works Department. The five victims were county employees and subordinate to Bustamante at the time that they were victimized, according to the statement.

In one incident in 2010 or 2011, Bustamante began kissing one of the victims while holding her in a bear hug. In another incident, he sexually assaulted a second female victim by rubbing her knee with his hand and trying to move his hand up her skirt.

The Orange County district attorney’s office began investigating in March 2012, after learning of the allegations against Bustamante. The victims expressed fears that their careers would be imperiled if they reported the sexual assaults, according to the statement.

“I always knew this type of behavior was wrong, but never did I imagine this would happen to me,” one victim said, in an impact statement read in court Friday. “You knew that I couldn’t tell anyone and you knew that I couldn’t defend myself and it terrified me. All I did was go to work every day. You knew I needed my job and you knew I was helpless, yet you continued.”

Bustamante was also convicted of grand theft for allegedly stealing public funds to attend a government training in Boston at a time when the county was in a severe financial crisis and most departments had undergone budget and spending cuts.

The program at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government cost $11,200 plus airfare and other expenses. Bustamante had signed a letter agreeing to pay $3,500 toward the tuition for the program, but in July 2010 submitted a reimbursement request for that money that was granted.

Bustamante’s sentencing is scheduled for January.

Twitter: @brittny_mejia

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