Former Garden Grove police sergeant faces four felonies in sex assault case

A former Garden Grove police sergeant has been charged with four felonies stemming from allegations that he sexually assaulted two women who worked for the department, NBC Los Angeles reported. Charles William Starnes III, 52, was arrested Thursday.

The allegations concern encounters in 2007 and 2020 involving a fellow officer and a civilian employee. The Orange County District Attorney's Office announced the charges against Starnes, who retired in May while on administrative leave during a sexual harassment investigation, according to NBC Los Angeles.

Starnes was charged Oct. 16 with kidnapping to commit a sex offense, assault with intent to commit a sexual offense and two counts of sexual penetration by a foreign object, NBC Los Angeles reported. One penetration count alleges force; the other alleges use of an intoxicating or controlled substance.

Prosecutors allege Starnes assaulted a fellow police officer in March 2007 as she left a restroom at a Stanton bar. He allegedly dragged her into the parking lot and continued the assault until two officers intervened, according to the report.

The second alleged assault involved a civilian employee in March 2020. Prosecutors allege it occurred during a car ride following a gathering at a Long Beach bar to celebrate an officer's completion of probation.

The U.S. Marshals Service arrested Starnes early Thursday in cooperation with the California Highway Patrol, NBC Los Angeles reported.

Starnes joined the Garden Grove Police Department in 2005 after serving as a Riverside County sheriff's deputy. He previously headed the Garden Grove Police Officers' Association and had served as a sergeant in the department's Traffic Operations Unit since 2025, according to the report.

If convicted on all counts, Starnes faces a maximum sentence of seven years to life in prison, plus an additional 14 years, NBC Los Angeles reported.