Former Deputy in Sex Case Found Dead

VENTURA —  A veteran Ventura County Sheriff’s Department sergeant apparently committed suicide just hours before his scheduled arraignment on charges of molesting a girl over a five-year period beginning when she was 10.

The Ventura Police Department said the body of Robert Michael LeFever was found Tuesday in a small trailer that the former deputy kept at a Ventura storage lot.

LeFever, 42, a 15-year veteran of the Sheriff’s Department, had faced arraignment Tuesday afternoon on 10 sex charges connected to the alleged molestation case.

2 Suicide Notes

Ventura Police Sgt. Bob Anderson said LeFever apparently shot himself Tuesday morning with a .45-caliber pistol after leaving two suicide notes saying that his legal problems had caused emotional troubles for his family.

LeFever’s body was found by his 21-year-old son, Robert, police said. The deputy, who resigned from the Sheriff’s Department on Aug. 23 after a six-month investigation into his alleged sex crimes, had locked himself inside the trailer.

LeFever, who faced a possible 20-year prison term if convicted on the sex charges, was accused of molesting an unidentified girl during a five-year period ending in January.