Sex trafficking investigation prompts review of Boys & Girls Clubs’ policies

The man charged with contacting minors for sexual purposes he met while working for the Boys and Girls Clubs of Santa Cruz County (BGCSCC) in Scotts Valley pleaded not guilty to 11 charges in Santa Cruz County Superior Court on Aug. 18.

Ciriaco Johnson, 24, denied three felony human trafficking of a minor charges, three felony counts of communicating with a minor relating to a lewd act, one felony count of arranging to meet a minor child, annoying or molesting a minor (charged once as a felony and twice as a misdemeanor), and tattooing a person under the age of 18 (a misdemeanor).

He’s out of jail on a $40,000 bond and has been ordered to have no minors in his home at all, and no access to electronic devices.

In court filings, prosecutors said Johnson was “motivated by an unnatural and abnormal sexual interest in children,” stated he’d been residing with a minor, and noted he’d already been the subject of an investigation for inappropriate conduct by another agency.

The DA’s Office, which argued against granting bail, now says there were at least four victims, including three human trafficking victims.

And now, as the nonprofit tries to reassure locals that the children in its care are safe, police are urging parents to make sure their family’s own digital safety practices are up to date.

BGCSCC opened in Santa Cruz in 1969. It expanded to Scotts Valley in 2018 with the Joe and Linda Aliberti Clubhouse on Scotts Valley Drive.

The organization filled a critical childcare need for Scotts Valley during the pandemic, after the City essentially disbanded its recreation department when the coronavirus arrived.

In August 2021, with the future of local government finances still uncertain, Scotts Valley agreed to guarantee $90,000 in funding—in partnership with the Scotts Valley Unified School District and BGCSCC—for an afterschool program.

“What are some of the steps that we take to make sure this offering is going to be of the quality that we’ve come to expect from Boys and Girls Clubs?” asked Jim Reed, the vice mayor at the time.

Staff replied that the program would have plenty of oversight.

The City also helped fund a summer camp serving hundreds of kids at the community center that year.

“I’m very thankful that the City was able to come up with this partnership,” then-mayor Derek Timm said. “It’s really a good solution for our community during a time when our Rec department’s been decimated.”

It was around this time that Johnson got his job with BGCSCC (police say he worked there between 2019 and 2023).

As the group kicked off a program to look after the children of essential workers during the lockdown era, it emphasized just how close a relationship its employees would develop with the youth.

“Our staff-to-child ratio is really small and each staff member has been working with the same group of children each day, to give them continuity of mentorship and simultaneously prevent cross-contamination,” said Maia Yates, who was the director of program services for the Boys and Girls Club during this period, to a Press Banner reporter back then.

‘Our written policies expressly prohibit one-on-one interaction between Club participants and staff or volunteers’

—Lis DuBois, in an email to a parent

Now, police say both the local and national organization has been reviewing its policies and procedures in the wake of Johnson’s arrest.

“The current director of the Boys and Girls Clubs has been incredibly helpful,” said Scotts Valley Police Department Det. Sgt. Pascale Drozek, “—especially considering that none of these crimes occurred while that person was employed.”

Lis DuBois, the executive director of the Boys and Girls Clubs of Santa Cruz County, told a parent in an email that they’re taking this situation “extremely seriously” and consider the safety of youth their top priority.

“Our written policies expressly prohibit one-on-one interaction between Club participants and staff or volunteers,” she wrote. “This includes prohibiting one-on-one contact at any time at the Club, in vehicles, or by phone, text, social media or any other means. Any inappropriate communication with children will result in disciplinary action including but not limited to immediate suspension from the Club, termination of employment, and if applicable, referral to local law enforcement.”

However, she noted, they don’t formally monitor the social media profiles of staff members.

“Our hiring process includes in-person interviews, reference checks, and a LiveScan fingerprint and comprehensive background check,” she said. “Going forward, we will also review the social media profiles of prospective staff prior to onboarding. We will be conducting a formal and in-depth external safety assessment with staff from Boys and Girls Clubs of America from Aug. 20-22, including a mandatory training for all staff.”

The organization plans to share additional safety resources from the national organization and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children with its staff, Club youth and families.

“We will be conducting a series of back-to-school safety trainings with our Club members, covering a range of topics from earthquake drills to digital citizenship and online safety, including the fact that it is never appropriate for Club staff to try to connect with them directly by phone, or via text, social media, other online means,” she wrote.

The investigation began when a mom reached out July 24 after seeing their child had received multiple inappropriate direct messages via a social media platform, according to Drozek.

Drozek and Det. Kevin Elliott conducted an interview with the mother and daughter at the police department to figure out what was going on.

“We had the probable cause to establish that this person was violating the law,” Drozek said. “From there we took over the child’s social media account.”

However, she adds, “At no point did we ever suggest or offer or solicit anything.”

From there, police got warrants to search Johnson, and to examine his phone, house, car and electronic devices.

Drozek credits the mother for her vigilance.

“The parent being alert and invested in her child’s online presence was huge,” she said.

Drozek also commended the daughter for her “courage and bravery,” which led to identifying more victims.

“There was a pattern of predatory grooming and clear intent of attempting to solicit young ladies for sexual acts in exchange for money,” she said, emphasizing that none of the inappropriate communication police uncovered happened until after the suspect had left BGCSCC.

Johnson originally met multiple victims through the Boys and Girls Clubs, she added.

Drozek suggests parents make it clear to their kids they won’t get in trouble for bringing up weird things they see online.

“One of the most important things that parents can do is have full control over their kids’ online presence,” she said. “There’s a lot of really bad people out there looking to do terrible things. Educating the children and educating the parents, that’s where we start making a dent in this.”