Ex-officer arrested twice in same case

A former Honolulu police officer, indicted March 15 on charges of sexually assaulting a girl, was arrested nearly two years ago on the identical charges for the same case.

Teddy Van Lerberghe was a 41-year-old police officer when he was initially arrested on May 8, 2015, on four counts of first-degree sexual assault and two counts of second-degree sexual assault. He was briefly in police custody, then released pending investigation.

He kept his job for one year after the initial arrest with the Honolulu Police Department until he was fired in May 2016.

He remained free without charges for another 10 months after his termination until his arrest March 16.

Van Lerberghe, who was released on $100,000 bail, will be arraigned today in Honolulu District Court.

Police spokeswoman Michelle Yu said she could not comment on the case. The criminal case was separate from HPD’s internal affairs investigation, she said.

“We got an indictment,” said Chuck Parker, spokesman for the Honolulu Prosecutor’s Office. “We can’t discuss the particulars of the case.”

The alleged sexual assault of the girl, who was then younger than 14, began in 2004, according to the indictment.

Then in 2007, during the period Van Lerberghe was allegedly sexually assaulting the minor, he joined the police department and continued the alleged assaults until 2008.