This week, Scotts Valley Police Department reported the arrest of Ciriaco Johnson, 24, a teen counselor at the Scotts Valley Boys and Girls Club from 2019 to 2023, on charges of contact of minor with intent to commit sexual offense, human trafficking, and annoying/molesting a victim under 18 years of age.
The Aug. 1 arrest followed an undercover operation.
Police say he also offered money to the minors in exchange for images and for silence about his solicitation.
Police say, at this time, there is no evidence he succeeded in sexually assaulting any minors.
Police say an attentive parent monitoring their child’s cell phone noticed some inappropriate messages and notified the Scotts Valley Police Department.
Detectives initiated an investigation and an undercover chat operation was conducted over social media, police say.
Police say this culminated in Johnson’s arrest, without incident, when he drove to Scotts Valley intending to sexually assault a female minor he believed he’d been chatting with.
On Facebook, where Scotts Valley Police reported the arrest, police expressed “gratitude for the vigilance of an attentive parent who’s monitoring of their child’s cell phone likely prevented the sexual assault of one or more children.”
Police aded: “We encourage all parents to appropriately monitor their children’s social media, cell phone usage, and on-line presence to keep them safe from predatory adults who may seek to take advantage of them. We also encourage any minors who have been solicited or received inappropriate communication from an adult to reach out to us in order to help prevent further victimization and receive support.”
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Anyone with additional information regarding this case is asked to contact the Scotts Valley Police Department at (831) 440-5670 or Detective Sergeant Pascale Drozek at pdrozek@scottsvalley.gov.