Former Counselor Arrested for Suspected Child Abuse

SCOTTS VALLEY –  A 24-year-old Santa Cruz County man has been arrested by police accused of abusing his position as a former Boys and Girls Club counselor. 

From 2019 to 2023, Ciriaco Johnson worked as a teen counselor at the Boys and Girls Club of Santa Cruz County’s Joe & Linda Aliberti Clubhouse in Scotts Valley. 

According to a police press release, after leaving his job, Johnson maintained contact with several of his ex-mentees and offered money to some of those minors in exchange for sexual acts. 

Although the police have no evidence of child abuse by Johnson, it is alleged that he offered money to the minors in exchange for images and their silence about these requests. 

Investigators arrested Johnson Thursday night after conducting an undercover social media chat operation. According to police, Johnson drove to Scotts Valley that night with the alleged intent to sexually assault a minor he believed he was chatting with. 

Johnson was taken to the Santa Cruz County jail on suspicion of contacting a minor with the intent to commit a sex crime, human trafficking, and molesting a victim under the age of 18. 

By Monday afternoon, he had been released on bond, but the Santa Cruz County District Attorney’s Office had not yet filed charges. 

The department was tipped off about Johnson’s alleged activities when a parent of one of the children observed the man sending inappropriate messages to his son. 

The department requests that anyone with additional information on this case contact the Scotts Valley Police Department at 831-440-5670 or Detective Sgt. Pascale Drosek at pdrozek@scottsvalley.gov.

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