In another black eye for the troubled Los Angeles County Probation Department, a probation officer has been accused of having sex with a minor in custody at the Dorothy Kirby Center in Commerce.
The female officer, who has not been identified, was charged with arranging a meeting with the minor for a lewd purpose, sex with an inmate, bringing contraband into a jail and unauthorized possession of a cellphone in a secured area.
The Probation Department’s Juvenile Safety and Welfare Task Force, formed in February to combat the spread of drugs and other contraband, will forward the case to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office once the investigation is complete, according to the department.
Investigators discovered the relationship while investigating a phone recovered from a youth at the facility on March 7, according to a statement from the department. The Dorothy Kirby Center is a co-ed facility that houses “adjudicated youth with mental health issues,” according to the Probation Department.
“Information supported by a warrant led investigators to communications between the detained youth and Probation Officer,” the statement reads. “Some of these communications appeared to have occurred while the employee was at work and there were photos that are sexual in nature.”
The employee allegedly gave statements during interviews with investigators that confirmed the conversations were with her. Investigators found a cellphone, which is not permitted inside the facility, and a prescription pill container “with different types of pills in varying quantities” in her possession.
The department declined to comment further on the incident as it is “an ongoing investigation involving an employee and a minor.”
First arrest by task force
It is the first arrest — at least made publicly — by the Juvenile Safety and Welfare Task Force.
Probation Chief Guillermo Viera Rosa formed the task force in February to investigate and prosecute…
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