A former Internal Revenue Service agent and Oakland tax enforcement officer has been charged in connection with a scheme that stole $3 million in COVID-19 pandemic relief money.
SCOTTS VALLEY — Police have arrested a 24-year-old Santa Cruz County man they say abused his position as a former Boys and Girls Club counselor.
Ciriaco Johnson served as a teen counselor for the Boys and Girls Club of Santa Cruz County’s Joe & Linda Aliberti Clubhouse in Scotts Valley from 2019 through 2023, according to the Scotts Valley Police Department. After Johnson left the job, he allegedly remained in contact with several of his mentees “eventually leading to him offering money to some of those minors in exchange for sexual acts,” police said in a media release.
While police said they had no evidence that he succeeded in sexually assaulting any minors, they allege that he offered money to the minors in exchange for images and silence about his solicitation.
Investigators arrested Johnson Thursday night after setting up an undercover chat operation through social media. According to police, Johnson drove to Scotts Valley that night, allegedly with the intent to sexually assault a female minor with whom he believed he had been chatting. He was booked into Santa Cruz County Jail on suspicion of contacting a minor with intent to commit sexual offense, human trafficking and annoying/molesting a victim under 18 years of age. Johnson had been bailed out of jail as of Monday afternoon and no charges were yet filed by the Santa Cruz County District Attorney’s Office.
The department was tipped off to Johnson’s alleged activities when a parent of one of the minors reportedly observed that Johnson was sending their child inappropriate messages.
“We encourage all parents to appropriately monitor their children’s social media, cell phone usage, and online presence to keep them safe from predatory adults who may seek to take advantage of them,” Scotts Valley police wrote in their release. “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.”
The department is asking anyone with additional information regarding this case to contact the Scotts Valley Police Department at 831-440-5670 or detective Sgt. Pascale Drozek at pdrozek@scottsvalley.gov.
Originally published at Jessica York