Long Beach
Police Department

On Thursday, Mar. 18, 2021, Long Beach Police Detectives arrested a male adult suspect for the alleged sexual assault of a female minor that occurred in the City of Long Beach when the victim was five years old.

On Sunday, Jan. 10, 2021, Long Beach Police Officers were dispatched to a report of sexual abuse against a child that occurred in the area of Carson Street and Orange Avenue approximately 10 years ago. The suspect is a family acquaintance of the victim, and the victim recently decided to come forward with the information and report the incident to police.

Based on information obtained during the investigation, detectives arrested 35-year old Paul Skelly, who is a resident of Long Beach. Skelly is a 13-year employee of the City of Long Beach currently assigned to the Department of Financial Management and was arrested at his workplace at 2600 N. Temple Avenue at 3:45 p.m. today. The allegations are unrelated to his employment with the City, however, Skelly will be suspended without pay pending the outcome of the investigation.

Skelly was booked on one felony charge of sexual abuse involving a minor and is being held on $100,000 bail. Detectives believe there may be additional victims who were acquainted with Skelly, therefore a photo of the suspect is not being released at this time while the investigation is continuing.

Anyone with information is asked to contact Detective Hector Gomez in the Child Abuse Detail at (562) 570-7321. Anyone wishing to remain anonymous may submit a tip through “LA Crime Stoppers” by calling 1-800-222-TIPS (8477), downloading the “P3 Tips” app to your smartphone (available at the Apple App store and Google Play), or visiting www.lacrimestoppers.org.