San Mateo Social Worker Arrested For Allegedly Sleeping With Former 16-Year-Old Client
SAN MATEO COUNTY (CBS SF) -- A San Mateo County social worker was arrested Tuesday after allegedly having sex with a 16-year-old former client, according to the sheriff's office.
It was not the first accusation of inappropriate conduct against Department of Children and Family Services social worker Manuel Sedillo, according to agency director Iliana Rodriguez.
San Mateo County sheriff's deputies arrested Sedillo, 38, of Santa Clara, at about 12:15 p.m. Tuesday in Palo Alto on suspicion of unlawful sexual intercourse with a person under 18, oral copulation with a person under 18, sexual penetration with a person under 18, and disseminating sexual imagery to a person under 18 years old.
Sedillo was already on administrative leave for an unrelated employee matter and was not working at the time the allegation of sexual assault was reported, according to the sheriff's office.
Officials say they are concerned about the possibility that other girls may have also been victimized.
"The sheriff's office takes these allegations very seriously and is working in collaboration with Children and Family Services to investigate any other potential victims on Sedillo's caseload," according to a statement released by the sheriff's office Wednesday.
Rodriguez said the incidents were alleged to have occurred in another county. Once she received the reports, Rodriguez said she immediately placed Sedillo on administrative leave and contacted law enforcement for a "rigorous investigation."
"I was shocked and just horrified when I heard these allegations in July," Rodriguez said.
She said the subsequent criminal investigation and an investigation by an external child welfare agency was deemed inconclusive.
Regardless, Rodriguez said she found other issues with his job performance and did not reinstate him.
She said she issued a termination notice on Oct. 6 and Sedillo resigned on Oct. 24. Sedillo has been employed by the county since 2001 and with the department since 2006, Rodriguez said.
She said she could not disclose the age of the other alleged victim or the county in which the crimes were alleged to have occurred because they are now part of the new, ongoing investigation.
The department, along with law enforcement, is investigating Sedillo's full caseload to see if any other victims are found. She said she could not estimate how many cases he might have handled during his eight years in the department.
"We will not tolerate any misconduct," Rodriguez said. "It's unfortunate because social workers' goal is to support children and families and the image this leaves is really disheartening to the entire profession. This is not what the profession is about."
Sedillo was booked into the San Mateo County Maguire Corretional Facility and has since posted $400,000 bail. His arraignment is set for Dec. 1.
Any person who with information about these incidents is asked to contact either Det. Dan Hoss at 650-363-4066 or the San Mateo County Sheriff's Office Anonymous Tip Line at 1-800-547-2700.
MORE:
