How Could You? Hall of Shame-SW Manuel Sedillo-Messer UPDATED and lawsuit

This will be an archive of heinous actions by those involved in child welfare, foster care and adoption. We forewarn you that these are deeply disturbing stories that may involve sex abuse, murder, kidnapping and other horrendous actions.

From San Mateo, California,”a San Mateo County social worker was arrested on 18 counts of felony child molestation after a 16-year-old girl he was assigned to help through Child Protective Services reported they had a sexual relationship.

Manuel Sedillo, 38, of Santa Clara was taken into custody Tuesday on charges of unlawful sexual intercourse with a person under 18, as well as charges alleging oral copulation, sexual penetration and the dissemination of sexual imagery, sheriff’s spokeswoman Rebecca Rosenblatt said.

A teenage girl reported in early October that she had sex with the man on multiple occasions after he had been assigned to her case by the county Children and Family Services Department.

Sedillo was recently been placed on administrative leave for an unrelated matter and was no longer working the girl’s case. The sheriff’s office launched an investigation and found evidence that revealed the abuse started while he was assigned to help the girl, Rosenblatt said. Officials did not immediately disclose why Sedillo was on leave.

Sheriff’s deputies located Sedillo about 12:15 p.m. Tuesday and placed him under arrest in the 700 block of Welch Road in Palo Alto, Rosenblatt said. He was booked into San Mateo County jail, where he remains on $400,000 bail.

According to Rosenblatt, the sheriff’s office is concerned about the possibility that other girls may have been victimized and is investigating Sedillo’s caseload for any other potential victims.

Any person who is a victim or who has information about potential incidents is asked to contact Det. Dan Hoss at 650-363-4066 ordhoss@smcgov.org, or Det. Jesse Myers at 650-363-4050 or jrmyers@smcgov.org. Callers may also remain anonymous by calling the Anonymous Tip Line at 800-547-2700.”

San Mateo County social worker arrested on child molestation charges[Mercury News 10/29/14 by Erin Levie]

REFORM Puzzle Piece

 

Update:“A former social worker accused of having sex with two teenage clients while working for the San Mateo County Child Protective Services agency pleaded not guilty earlier this week to 20 counts of oral copulation and sexual intercourse with a person under 18 years old, prosecutors said.

Manuel Sedillo-Messer, 38, of Santa Clara, was arrested last month after a 16-year-old girl told sheriff’s investigators she had a sexual relationship with him for several months earlier this year while she was his client, according to the district attorney’s office.

Since then, investigators have located a second 16-year-old girl who said that he took her to a hotel in San Jose and had sex with her.

In total, Sedillo-Messer is charged with 11 counts of oral copulation with a person under the age of 18, two counts of sexual penetration of a person under 18 and seven counts of unlawful sexual intercourse with a person under 18, San Mateo County District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe said. Seventeen of the 20 counts relate to the first victim.

Sedillo-Messer met the first victim in 2011 when he was assigned to her family and became very friendly with her, eventually starting a sexual relationship with her on June 21 of this year.

He allegedly had sex with her on multiple occasions between then and July 31, including at a motel near Bakersfield, at another in Redwood City, at a San Mateo County beach and even in the Child Protective Services building in East Palo Alto, prosecutors said.

During that time, he also allegedly had sex with the second victim, another 16-year-old girl who said he was like a father to her until he took her to the Fairmont Hotel in San Jose for sex on July 11.

The agency first learned of the alleged abuse around that time and placed Sedillo-Messer on administrative leave on July 15. While the investigation by an external child welfare agency was inconclusive, county Human Services Agency director Iliana Rodriguez said that she found reason to terminate Sedillo-Messer and accepted his resignation on Oct. 24.

He was arrested in Palo Alto four days later. Initially, investigators had reports from only the first victim but since then have interviewed the second victim and received a more detailed account from the first victim, leading prosecutors to file additional charges.

Sedillo-Messer pleaded not guilty to all 20 counts Monday in the courtroom of Judge Barbara Mallach. He is next scheduled to appear for a preliminary hearing on Jan. 29, prosecutors said.

A married father, Sedillo-Messer has worked with the Child Protective Services agency since 2006 and for the county since 2001. He remains out of custody on $400,000 bail and on the condition that he not contact either victim.”

Former social worker pleads not guilty to sex with teen clients[KTVU 12/4/14]

Update 2: “A former San Mateo County Child Protective Services Agency social worker accused of molesting East Palo Alto girls to which he was assigned is facing 10 additional felonies for allegedly having sexual relations with a third minor, according to the San Mateo County District Attorney’s Office.

 

Manuel Anton Sedillo-Messer, 38, of Santa Clara faces 30 charges for allegedly engaging in sexual acts with three underage girls.

 

Sedillo-Messer was assigned to work with troubled children in East Palo Alto, some of whom were transferred out of the county and placed in foster care, Deputy District Attorney Sean Gallagher said. He was originally arrested on Oct. 28, 2014, and was charged with 20 counts, including oral copulation and sexual penetration with two 16-year-old victims.

 

He was assigned to the family of the first victim in 2011 and became friendly with her, culminating in a sexual relationship between June 21 through July 31, 2014. Seventeen counts apply to his alleged abuse of this victim, including molestations at a motel near Bakersfield and at another in Redwood City, at the Child Protective Services office in East Palo Alto and at a San Mateo County beach, according to the DA’s office.

 

The second victim reported that Sedillo-Messer was like a father to her. On July 11, 2014, he allegedly took her to the Fairmont Hotel in San Jose and engaged in sexual relations with her. One of the first two victims eventually reported the abuse to her mother, who notified police.

 

Sedillo-Messer allegedly started molesting the third victim, who was also on his caseload, when she was 16. The abuse continued until her 18th birthday, Gallagher said. Children are released from the child-welfare system when they become adults at 18.

 

Sedillo-Messer faces 17 counts of oral copulation with a minor under the age of 18 and 11 counts of statutory rape or sexual penetration with a person under the age of 18, and other charges. He was out of custody on $400,000 bail, which was increased Thursday to $600,000. His parents posted the additional $200,000, and he remains out of jail, Gallagher said. He is scheduled to return to court on March 5″

Social worker accused of child molestation faces additional charges[Palo Alto Online 1/30/15 by Sue Dremann]

Update 3:“A former San Mateo County Child Protective Services social worker accused of having sex with two teenage girls assigned to him must stand trial, a judge ruled this week.

Manuel Anton Sedillo-Messer, 38, of Santa Clara, was supposed to work with “troubled children” in East Palo Alto when he committed the crimes, according to the District Attorney’s Office.

Sedillo-Messer, who is married and has a child, participated in a sexual relationship with two 16-year-old girls, prosecutors alleged.

He was assigned to the first victim’s family in 2011 and struck up a friendship with the girl, according to prosecutors. They alleged he molested the girl between June 21 and July 31 last year at a Bakersfield motel, in Redwood City, at the Child Protective Services office in East Palo Alto and at a San Mateo County beach.

According to prosecutors, the second victim said Sedillo-Messer was like a father to her. But on July 11, he took her to the Fairmont Hotel in San Jose for sexual relations.

One of the girls told her mother about the abuse, and she in turn reported the crimes to the police, prosecutors allege.

Sedillo-Messer is charged with 17 counts of oral copulation with a person under the age of 18, two counts of sexual penetration of a person under 18 and 11 counts of unlawful sexual intercourse with a person under 18, District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe said.

Sedillo-Messer waived his right to a preliminary hearing Thursday, “which automatically sends the case to the Superior Court to set a trial date,” Wagstaffe said.

Sedillo-Messer is represented by attorney Michael Armstrong and is scheduled to return to court at 8:30 a.m. March 20 for his arraignment.

His jury trial and pretrial conference also will be scheduled at that time.”

Social worker to be tried on charges of having sex with two East Palo Alto teens in his care[Mercury News 3/6/15 by Rhea Mahbubani]

Update 4: “A former San Mateo County Child Protective Services Agency social worker accused of molesting East Palo Alto girls to which he was assigned is now being sued by one of his alleged victims, according to a lawsuit filed in San Mateo County Superior Court.

 

The suit, which was filed by the girl’s court-appointed guardian, Jonathan McDougall, on June 11, alleges that Manuel Anton Sedillo-Messer, 38, engaged in unlawful sexual intercourse, sexual penetration, oral copulation, sexual assault and battery, gender violence, breach of mandatory duty and other accusations.

 

San Mateo County and other unnamed defendants in the county’s employ are also named as defendants in many of the accusations, including breach of mandatory duty, negligent hiring, retention supervision and training and negligence.

 

Sedillo-Messer, of Santa Clara, is facing 30 criminal charges for allegedly engaging in sexual acts with three underage girls, according to the San Mateo County District Attorney’s Office. He was assigned to work with troubled children in East Palo Alto, some of whom were transferred out of the county and placed in foster care, according to the DA. Seventeen counts apply to his alleged abuse of the plaintiff in the civil case.

 

Sedillo-Messer was originally arrested on Oct. 28, 2014, and was charged with 20 counts, including oral copulation and sexual penetration with two 16-year-old victims. He was subsequently charged in January 2015 with molesting a third 16-year-old victim who was also on his caseload and was ordered to stand trial in March.

 

The plaintiff in the civil case is referenced as Jane Doe No. 1, according to the lawsuit. Sedillo-Messer was assigned as a social worker to Jane Doe’s family in 2011. Although he was no longer a social worker for her family by July 2012, he maintained contact with the girl. He was reassigned as her social worker in January 2014, after she was placed in long-term foster care.

 

Sedillo-Messer allegedly began seeing Jane Doe almost daily and began having inappropriate contact and discussions with her in January 2014. Because he was her social worker, she depended on him as a role model and parent-like figure to provide guidance, the lawsuit states. He leveraged his position and authority to manipulate Jane Doe into a sexual relationship, the suit alleges.

 

Sedillo-Messer allegedly relayed intimate details of his sexual encounters and extramarital affairs to Jane Doe. At one point, while alone with Jane Doe in an elevator, he allegedly told her he was thinking about having sex with her. He allegedly drove the girl to a motel in Kingsburg, California, where he engaged in oral sex and had sexual intercourse four times with her, according to the lawsuit. The sexual relations continued through Aug. 23, 2014, including at Sedillo-Messer’s home, the home of Jane Doe’s mother and in county-owned vehicles.

 

The suit also names San Mateo County and other unnamed defendants in the county’s employ as defendants for aiding and abetting Sedillo-Messer.

 

As “mandated reporters” under law, employees at San Mateo County Dependent Children’s Home, the county’s Youth Services Center and at group-home facilities where Jane Doe was living are required to inform authorities of suspected or known sexual abuse. According to the lawsuit, they failed to report the incidents, despite Jane Doe having explicitly told the employees that Sedillo-Messer was having sexual relations with her.

 

San Mateo’s Office of the County Counsel could not immediately be reached for comment.”

East Palo Alto girl sues former social worker for alleged molestation [Palo Alto Online 6/15/15 by  Sue Dremann]

Update 5:“A former San Mateo County social worker charged with 20 felonies for having sexual relationships with two underage clients pleaded no contest to 10 counts on Friday in exchange for a nine-year prison sentence, prosecutors said today.

Manuel Sedillo-Messer, 39, worked as a Child Protective Services social worker with troubled East Palo Alto families from 2006 until he resigned on Oct. 24, 2014, while being investigated for the abuse.

San Mateo County sheriff’s deputies arrested him four days later.

The investigation started when his 16-year-old client, whose family he had been working with since 2011, told her mother that Sedillo-Messer had a sexual relationship with her between June and July 2014, including at motels in Bakersfield and Redwood City, at a San Mateo County beach and even in the Child Protective Services office.

Investigators then found a second 16-year-old girl who said Sedillo-Messer had taken her to a San Jose hotel and had sex with her, according to prosecutors.

Sedillo-Messer was initially charged with 20 felonies for the abuse — 11 counts of oral copulation with a person under the age of 18, two counts of sexual penetration of a person under 18 and seven counts of unlawful sexual intercourse with a person under 18.

He pleaded not guilty to all charges after his arrest, but changed his plea Friday to no contest for five counts of felony oral copulation with a minor and five counts of unlawful intercourse with a minor. He agreed to a sentence of nine years in prison in the plea deal, prosecutors said.

Sedillo-Messer had been free on $400,000 bail on the condition that he not contact either victim after his arrest, but violated the order by contacting the first victim, according to prosecutors. He was then held on $2 million bail, though prosecutors have declined to file charges for the alleged violation of the no contact order.

He is scheduled to return to court for sentencing on April 12.”

Former social worker pleads no contest to sex with clients [The Daily Journal 2/22/16 by Scott Morris]

Update 6:“A former San Mateo County Child Protective Services social worker who was convicted of having sex with three teenage girls was sentenced Tuesday to nine years in prison.

Manuel Anton Sedillo-Messer, 39, of Santa Clara, used his position working with children in East Palo Alto to engage in sexual relationships with three girls, all 16, according to the San Mateo County District Attorney’s Office. Sedillo-Messer pleaded no contest on Feb. 19 to 11 felony counts reflecting his sexual contact with the girls as part of a plea agreement, according to Chief Deputy District Attorney Karen Guidotti.

Sedillo-Messer, who is married and has a child, was assigned to the first victim’s family in 2011 and struck up a friendship with the girl, according to prosecutors. The sexual acts occurred in June and July of 2014 at multiple locations, including a motel near Bakersfield and at the CPS office in East Palo Alto.

The second victim told authorities Sedillo-Messer was like a father to her. On July 11, he took her to the Fairmont Hotel in San Jose and engaged in sexual relations.

One of the girls told her mother about the abuse, and she reported the incidents to police.”

Former San Mateo County social worker sentenced for sex with minors [Mercury News 4/12/16 by Mark Gomez]