A former Costa Mesa police officer has admitted that he called and texted a woman thousands of times with whom he had an extramarital affair and used a confidential law enforcement database to track her location, according to authorities.
Robert J. Josette, 35, of Costa Mesa, pleaded guilty to one misdemeanor count of unauthorized computer access and fraud, one misdemeanor count of annoying and repeated phone calls and one misdemeanor count of contempt of court for violating a restraining order, according to a news release from the Orange County District Attorney’s Office.
Authorities said Josette admitted to contacting the woman sometimes more than 100 times a day during a nine-month period. According to the agency, he was given notice that he would be fired by the Costa Mesa Police Department, after which he allegedly violated the restraining order by driving near her home.
He also used law enforcement databases to track the location of the woman as well as his wife.
According to the news release, as a result of her plea, Josette was ordered to complete a 52-week domestic violence program and sentenced to three years of informal probation. He has already spent nine months wearing a court-ordered GPS ankle monitor since his arrest.
According to a news release, between June 2023 and December 2023, Josette used the California law enforcement telecommunications system to make 13 inquiries of people including the woman and her wife, as well as vehicles related to her job.
Josette was placed on leave from the Costa Mesa Police Department in December 2023.
According to the release, starting in April 2024, after Josette’s ex-girlfriend broke up with him, he allegedly threatened to expose explicit photos of her and demanded to know if she had had sex with anyone else. Authorities said he began calling her and her new boyfriend 58 times a day and followed her up to her home.
According to authorities, she allegedly illegally accessed the police department’s license plate reader system in June 2024 to track the location of her new boyfriend in Torrance.
According to authorities, on June 28, 2024, Josette was granted an emergency protective order and a notice of intent to terminate from the Costa Mesa Police Department. Authorities said Josette left the police department and drove to the woman’s home in violation of the restraining order. he was arrested.
Orange County District, “The actions taken by someone appointed as a sworn police officer are obsessive, appalling and dangerous.” Atty. Todd Spitzer said in a statement. “No one should have to live in fear of being tracked through law enforcement databases by someone with a badge and a gun because they decided to end a romantic relationship. And no one gets to hide behind a badge as a shield to engage in criminal behavior.”
Josette’s actions were reported to the California Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training, which oversees licensing for law enforcement officers in California.
