Sheriff Demotes Malibu Captain (That’s #3) After Intruder Case Mishandled

A sexual assault at a Malibu condominium left the victim traumatized, and resulted in the demotion and transfer of the fourth high-level Malibu sheriff’s commander within a short span.

Capt. Matt Vander Horck was demoted and relieved of duty today, according to a phone call made to City Manager Reva Feldman. “We were informed that Capt. Check Becerra would be coming back.”

Neither Feldman nor any other of the four city managers served by Malibu-Lost Hills were consulted, she said.

Vander Horck came in for discipline after his deputies were accused of mishandling a sex-related attack at a condominium on Civic Center Way on Feb. 8, when a transient walked in an unlocked door and reportedly fondled a young woman inside.

Neighbors were infuriated that the sheriff’s office did not alarm residents to the intrusion, did not seek video pictures of the assailant, and did not seem to take the crime seriously.

But sources close to the investigation say the case was flawed by a lack of evidence, and by the victim’s apparent intoxication.  The woman could not be reached for comment.

The matter was festering until a Malibu tabloid publisher, Cece Woods, sent surveillance photos and a complaint to Sheriff Alex Villanueva, who frequently consults with Woods on Malibu issues.  Woods also organized campaign events for Villanueva during his long-shot campaign to win an upset in the November, 2018 election.

“Heads will roll,” Woods wrote on her website Monday.

On Tuesday, Vender Horck was demoted.

As for the crime, condo resident and council member Jefferson Wagner said deputies believe the attacker was a transient finally who entered the condominium complex through a hole in a perimeter fence.

After encountering the strange man inside her condominium, the woman reportedly screamed for help, the attacker apologized, and he left.

Sheriff’s deputies took 45 minutes to arrive, and neighbors complain that they did not believe the victim or take her complaints seriously.

Condo residents were also unhappy that the deputies did not collect security video that captured shots of the trespasser, or warn residents that he was in their midst more than a week after the attack.