Police ride-alongs left US teens as young as 14 vulnerable to abuse, investigation alleges

Deputy's rape case highlights alleged failures in youth programs run by Scouting America, formerly Boy Scouts

In May, prosecutors in Seattle charged a sheriff's deputy with raping a 17-year-old girl. The deputy met the teenager while he was an adviser in his department's youth mentorship program known as Explorers.

The victim, now 24, came forward in May to report the abuse, which she alleges took place in 2017 and 2018. The assaults allegedly began after King county sheriff's deputy Ricardo Arturo Cueva told her she was cute and that he liked her while they were alone on a ride-along in his police SUV. Cueva - who is 15 years her senior - later kissed the teenager while they were on a separate ride-along at night.