HAYWARD — One of two disgraced officers facing felony sex crime charges related to the sexual exploitation of a teenager pleaded not guilty Friday afternoon.

Former Contra Costa sheriff’s Deputy Ricardo Perez, 28, is charged with felony oral copulation with a minor on suspicion of alleged sexual contact with a 19-year-old Richmond woman at the center of an East Bay-wide sexual exploitation scandal. Perez, who has resigned from the Sheriff’s Office, is also charged with two misdemeanor counts of engaging in lewd conduct.

Oakland Officer Giovanni LoVerde, 33, had been scheduled to be arraigned but wasn’t because his attorney, Michael Cardoza, was out of town. He will instead appear in court on Oct. 7. LoVerde is also facing a charge of felony oral copulation with a minor.

The charges against LoVerde and Perez are the most serious so far in a widespread investigation into the woman’s claims that she had sex with some 30 police officers from various Bay Area agencies, some while she was underage and others in exchange for confidential information.

The woman, who is the daughter of an Oakland police dispatcher, previously used the alias Celeste Guap. This newspaper is not using her real name because she is the victim of a sex crime.

According to court records, the woman said she had sex with Perez about 10 times near Fish Ranch Road in the Oakland Hills in June or July 2015. At least one of the sexual encounters happened when she was 17 and at least two of the sex acts occurred in a public place, court papers show.

Before the hearing, Perez, dressed in a gray suit, arrived alone and did not respond to reporters’ questions. Twice he tried to get into the courtroom to avoid the cameras but it was locked.

Perez attempts for a second time to get in court. It's not open yet. pic.twitter.com/Nas382Mn0h — David DeBolt (@daviddebolt) September 30, 2016

Alameda County deputy district attorney Sabrina Farrell asked Judge Joseph Carson to set bail at $60,000, but defense attorney Joe Motta successfully argued that Perez was not a flight risk. Perez is a longtime Contra Costa resident who lives with his parents and does not pose a threat to society, Motta said. Carson let Perez remain out of custody on his own recognizance.

After reading Perez’s probable cause statement, Carson said, “Fish Ranch Road? I haven’t been there since high school.”

Outside the courthouse, the victim’s attorney called the remark inappropriate and an indicator the case wasn’t being taken seriously.

“As if what happened on Fish Ranch Road to this woman was a joke,” attorney Pamela Price said.

“I think that it’s outrageous that a defendant charged with a felony, simply because he is a police officer, is released on his own recognizance without having to post bail,” Price said. Oakland police Officer Brian Bunton, arraigned last month, was required to post $12,500 bail.

In July 2015, LoVerde purportedly received oral sex from the woman when she was 17 in an apartment entryway near Lake Merritt. When questioned by investigators, LoVerde denied ever having met the woman in person.

On Thursday, the woman’s two attorneys filed a $30 million claim against the city of Richmond and five Richmond officers, Mayor Tom Butt’s office said. Earlier this month, the attorneys filed a $66 million claim against the city of Oakland, and on Tuesday a $6 million claim was filed against the city of Livermore for the one officer involved there. Price said claims were also filed against San Francisco and Alameda County, each of which employed officers who sexually exploited the teen.

The claims seek about $6 million for each officer involved, Price said.

So far, five officers have been charged with crimes ranging from misdemeanors to felonies that took place in Alameda County. Alameda County District Attorney Nancy O’Malley said it’s up to other jurisdictions to file charges related to crimes that occurred in San Francisco and Contra Costa County.

On Sept. 23, Bunton pleaded not guilty to felony obstruction of justice and misdemeanor engaging in an act of prostitution on allegations of tipping the woman off to a prostitution sting in East Oakland in exchange for sex.

Also charged with misdemeanors are retired Oakland Sgt. LeRoy Johnson and resigned Livermore Office Daniel Black.

Oakland officers Terryl Smith and Warit Uttapa are facing misdemeanor charges but have not been formally charged. O’Malley said she found evidence Smith and Uttapa also committed crimes in Contra Costa County.

Contra Costa and San Francisco prosecutors say they are looking into the allegations. Price said neither office had met with her client as of Thursday.