Update: Yorba Linda Father Charged with Felony Child Endangerment for Illegally Modifying His Child’s Electric Bicycle

The Orange County District Attorney’s Office has made waves this month by charging a Yorba Linda father with the felony of child endangerment and abuse and the misdemeanor of contributing to the delinquency of a minor for illegally modifying his 12 year old child’s e-bike. After extensive and significant modifications, the e-bike had transformed into an e-motorcycle which requires riders to be at least sixteen years of age and to attain a motorcycle license. The father, Richard John Eyssallenne, pled not guilty and faces 6 years in state prison if convicted on all counts.

In December of 2024, the 12 year old received a citation for illegally riding an E-motorcycle since he was not yet 16 years of age and did not have a motorcycle license.

In January of 2025, Richard Eyssallenne took both his 12 year old son and his 10 year old son to an E-Bike Safety Presentation hosted by the Yorba Linda Police Services.

In July of 2025, Eyssallenne’s 12 year old son ran a red light and was hit by a car while illegally riding a heavily modified e-bike. The 12 year old sustained serious injuries in the accident, including a concussion, intercranial bleed, skull fracture, broken wrist, and fractured femur.

When law enforcement inspected the 12 year old’s modified E-Bike, they realized it did not qualify as an E-bike. The authorities concluded that it qualified as an E-motorcycle. The 12 year old was not qualified to ride an E-motorcycle on his own as he was not at least 16 years old and did not have the appropriate motorcycle license. Specifically, the child’s 2024 Talaria XXX qualified as a motor-drive cycle under California Vehicle Code Section 405 or a motorcycle under California Vehicle Code Section 400 due to the following modifications:

1) the manufacturer pedals were replaced with motorcycle pegs, meaning it did not have “fully operable pedals”;

2) the motor power exceeded the maximum of 750 watts as required by the E-Bike laws. In fact, the bike’s motor was rated 750 watts with a peak output of 5,000 watts;

3) the manufacturer-installed governor that limited the maximum speed to 20 miles per hour had its speed limiter wire cut. That speed limiter wire was rerouted to a key switch and allowed the 12 year old to ride much faster than 20 miles per hour.

All three modifications determine whether a vehicle is considered an e-bike or an e-motorcycle.

The Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer made clear in his statement to the press that “E-motorcycles are not child’s play, and we are not playing around in Orange County when it comes to the safety of our children...There is absolutely no reason that an unlicensed, untrained child with no concept of the rules of the road should be riding a motorcycle that can go up to 60 miles per hour next to cars on a public street and think that by some miracle they are going to be safe. This 12-year old boy is lucky to be alive and the driver who hit him will have to live with that horror of seriously injuring a child through no fault of this own. The Orange County District Attorney’s Office isn’t letting parents off with a warning. Let me make it clear: Parents who buy their child an E-motorcycle and let them ride them illegally or help modify E-Bikes to transform them into E-Motorcycles are handing their children a loaded weapon- and those parents are going to be prosecuted.”