Scotts Valley Police Department conducted an undercover operation culminating in the arrest of 24-year-old Ciriaco Johnson of Santa Cruz County on charges of contacting a minor with intent to commit sexual offense, human trafficking and annoying/molesting a victim under age 18.
Johnson served as a teen counselor at the Scotts Valley Boys and Girls Club from 2019 to 2023. Upon separation from employment with the Club, he stayed in contact with several of the young teens he had been counseling, eventually leading to him “offering money to some of those minors in exchange for sexual acts,” according to police in a news release.
“He also offered money to the minors in exchange for images and for silence about his solicitation,” police stated. “At this time, there is no evidence that he succeeded in sexually assaulting any minors.”
An attentive parent monitoring their child’s cell phone noticed some inappropriate messages and the Scotts Valley Police Department was immediately notified, police said.
Detectives initiated an investigation and an undercover chat operation was conducted over social media. This resulted in Johnson’s arrest, without incident, on the evening of Aug. 1, when he drove to Scotts Valley “intending to sexually assault a female minor he believed he’d been chatting with,” stated police.
“We would like to express our 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 said. “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.”
Anyone with additional information regarding this case is asked to contact the SVPD at 831-440-5670 or Detective Sgt. Pascale Drozek at pd*****@sc**********.gov.
