King County deputy charged for allegedly raping teen girl

A King County Sheriff’s Office deputy has been charged for allegedly raping a 17-year-old girl.

Ricardo Arturo Cueva was charged with rape in the third degree and sexual misconduct with a minor in the first degree, according to the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office (KCPAO).

“What King County prosecutors did was ask for him not only to not be around any minor children other than his biological children, and also to surrender all firearms, but asked that the court hold him on $150,000 bail and if he were to post bond on that amount, ask the court to order electronic home monitoring with GPS tracking, which the court did order,” Casey McNerthney with KCPAO told KIRO Newsradio.

Cueva turned himself in Friday to the Seattle Police Department (SPD), the King County Sheriff’s Office (KCSO) confirmed in a statement to MyNorthwest.

The investigating detective stated in court documents that he found Cueva had previously been accused of molestation in 2014.

King County deputy meets teen in 2016

Shortly after, Cueva started working with the Police Explorers at KCSO, a national volunteer program for young adults between 14 to 21 years old. Cueva met the girl, then 16 years old, through Police Explorers in 2016, according to court documents. After several ride-alongs, Cueva allegedly kissed the girl, who was then 17 years old.

“After (the girl) turned 17, several more kisses and make-outs occurred in Deputy Cueva’s police vehicle. (The girl) remembered that at this time in Deputy Cueva’s career, he was in a high-visibility street task force for the sheriff’s office,” documents stated.

The incidents then escalated, with the girl eventually going to Cueva’s house months later. According to court documents, Cueva told the girl his wife and daughter were not around and then reportedly raped her, stopping when he heard his wife’s car pull into the driveway.

The girl told the detective it was difficult to come forward because “Cueva told her that he loved her and she believed him.”

“He was just so charming and everybody loved him and thought that he was just the best, and then behind closed doors, he was doing so many things he wasn’t supposed to be, and lying to his bosses about where he was and what he was doing on these ride-alongs. It just felt like nobody ever saw through it…And he told me that he loved me and you know, how mature and special I was and all that stuff which was just a lie,” the girl said in her recorded statement to detectives.

The girl also noted that when Cueva was named Burien’s Officer of the Year in 2018, she thought no one would believe her. He would also tell her, “This is illegal, like I know you, you could totally
send me to jail, but like, I trust you and I know you’re not going to do that,” according to court documents.

Ricardo Cueva placed on administrative leave

Cueva has been placed on administrative leave, KCSO noted, and will remain on leave while the situation is investigated by SPD and the sheriff’s office’s Internal Investigations Unit.

“The King County Sheriff’s Office takes any allegations of criminal misconduct very seriously, and we will work closely and diligently with our law enforcement partners as this matter unfolds,” KCSO wrote.

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