Following his completion of a diversion program, criminal charges have been dismissed against a former supervising deputy probation officer accused of felony assault involving a minor at a juvenile camp in Malibu.
Oscar Cross, now 62, completed more than 200 hours of community service and 30 anger management sessions under a diversion program that resulted in the case against him being dismissed Monday by a judge, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office.
He had pleaded no contest in February 2025 to a misdemeanor assault charge that was dismissed Monday, court records show.
Cross had been charged over allegations that he used excessive force as he and four other deputy probation officers tried to restrain a juvenile at the Los Angeles County Probation Department’s Camp Kilpatrick facility on Oct. 23, 2020, the District Attorney’s Office said in a 2023 statement announcing the case.
Then-District Attorney George Gascón noted at the time that a video the Los Angeles Times obtained was “critical to our ability to charge this case,” indicating it showed the youth screaming and crying in pain.
“I think it’s hard to dispute when you have a video as clear as this particular video was that depicted the incident and the level of force that was being used and how unnecessary that force was,” Gascón said then.
Court papers obtained earlier this month indicated that a settlement has been reached in a federal civil rights lawsuit against Los Angeles County, its former chief probation officer and various deputy probation officers alleging excessive force against the teenage detainee.
Details of the settlement were not disclosed.
The Los Angeles County Probation Department could not be reached for immediate comment on Cross’ current employment status.