Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill filed a formal lawsuit against Roblox in the state’s court and Representative Ro Khanna from California filed a petition in favor of protecting children on the platform, according to a Forbes article on Aug. 15. Image by Viorel Valadi from Pixabay

SACRAMENTO REGION, CA (MPG) – Sex offenders are registered into a government database after they’ve been convicted in a court of law. Some of them were once trusted employees in area schools.

Parents are also urged to be aware of what their children are doing online, who they’re interacting with and how they’re behaving.

Two Sacramento-area school staff members were recently arrested for crimes against children in July. One was released from Sacramento County Jail, awaiting trial, and the other remains in custody at the El Dorado County Jail, according to police and court records. 

Alejandro Figuerosa, a 29-year-old Rancho Cordova resident, and Augustine Sanchez, a 48-year-old Citrus Heights resident were arrested in two separate incidents, allegedly involving crimes against children, according to police reports from the West Sacramento and Citrus Heights Police departments. 

Figuerosa, a psychologist at Westmore Oaks Elementary School in West Sacramento, was arrested by El Dorado County Sheriffs after allegedly attempting to meet a minor on July 3, facing six felonies and one misdemeanor regarding conduct with minors, according to the El Dorado County Sheriff’s Office. 

Under Title 5, Section 80049.1 of the California Code of Regulations, a school psychologist is defined as “A person who holds a valid credential authorizing the services as a school psychologist, which includes assessment, counseling, behavior intervention, and consultation in the public schools.” 

School psychologists have certain protections regarding communication that requires a type of attorney, referred to as a “special master,” which is appointed by a court to assist with the investigation process. The special master helps determine the usable evidence in sensitive cases, such as school educators, Detective Aaron Cuddeback from the El Dorado County Sheriff’s Office, said during a phone call with Messenger Publishing Group. Cuddeback is a high-tech crimes investigator.

Figuerosa is held without bail and is scheduled to be in court on Aug. 22, after press time, according to the El Dorado County Superior Court’s website. A not-guilty plea was entered on July 7 during Figuerosa’s arraignment.

Title 5 also clarifies tasks that school psychologists can perform under Pupil Personnel Services (PPS) beyond assessment, such as the coordination of school interventions, outside service providers and crisis support. The California Department of Education is the primary enforcement body for most K-12 schools in the state. 

According to news releases from the San Juan Unified School District and the Citrus Heights Police Department, Sanchez was placed on leave from Mesa Verde High School in February and a report was filed with the police department on March 6, saying that Sanchez had allegedly annoyed or molested a minor. 

An arrest warrant was issued for Sanchez on July 18 and he surrendered to Citrus Heights Police on July 31 but has since been released. Sanchez has been a Mesa Verde teacher in the San Juan Unified School District since 2012. 

Raj Rai, the San Juan Unified School District’s director of communications, said that the school district follows the guidance of law enforcement officials to avoid compromising the investigation when an allegation relates to the well-being of students, staff or community. 

“We work to build transparency by sharing as much detail as can legally and appropriately be shared when there is a confirmed impact to students or a school community,” Rai told Messenger Publishing Group. “In doing so, we work to balance protection of the investigative process, the rights of those involved and our families’ need to support their students.”

Regarding the district’s internal practices, the hiring process meets or exceeds both legal requirements and best practices, Rai said. Applicants must undergo a background check, surfacing past and future records, should an incident occur outside of the school environment. 

“Once hired, staff must complete sexual harassment and mandated reporter training on an annual basis,” Rai said. “Additionally, last spring, we began requiring all staff to take a child-abuse prevention training. These trainings emphasize the importance of being alert, reporting concerns promptly and taking action.”

The result of an investigation led by Citrus Heights Police found six victims had been identified but authorities said they do not believe there are any more victims. 

The San Juan Unified School District’s website has resources for families who strongly believe their child was victimized and the district said it urges those families to contact local law enforcement before conversing with their child. 

“If a child shares that they are being harmed, believe them, listen calmly and seek professional help immediately,” the district’s website said. 

Cuddeback said that the district attorney can argue to a court that the defendant is a danger to the public, resulting in a court-issued order for the defendant to refrain from visiting certain locations. He said that special locations might receive extra attention, depending on the compelling nature of the DA’s concerns. Court orders are argued and recommended prior to the defendant’s release. 

Under California Penal Code 290(b), Figuerosa and Sanchez would both be required to register as sex offenders if found guilty at trial and convicted. 

Only individuals convicted of qualifying sexual crimes are required to register as an offender, under Megan’s Law, a government website in accordance with California Penal Code 290.46 to further public safety. Barring a court order or a conviction, individuals released from the custody of law enforcement are innocent until proven guilty and are free to visit public spaces, such as parks and shopping centers. 

Currently, about 400 sex offenders are registered within the San Juan Unified School District’s perimeter and more than 100 are registered within the Washington Unified School District’s perimeter, according to the Megan’s Law database. 

Do you know who is registered near your child’s school? 

Checking a desired address in the Megan’s Law database will provide data on registered sex offenders by list or on a map, showing their known aliases, addresses and their conviction. The database can search for registrants by address, city, county, name or zip code. To search the database, visit https://www.meganslaw.ca.gov/.

Rai said the district’s safety team reviews Megan’s Law data while conducting safety assessments of school campuses, saying that the district relies on their law enforcement partners to alert them on pertinent updates.

“There’s nothing preventing (someone) from walking into that park,” Cuddeback said. “We really can’t do anything.”

Cuddeback said that law enforcement might monitor registrants or be present in public spaces that they frequent but a judge had determined the defendant was OK to be released

“We have to trust that the process works, that the judge and the attorney’s hashed it out in court and made, ultimately, the best decision for the person who’s been accused, as well as the public at large,” Cuddeback said.

According to the West Sacramento Police Department, county agencies will compile a county-wide sweep of the area with law enforcement and if the records unit is aware of a registrant who is out of compliance, their information will be forwarded to an investigations sergeant for follow up. 

The investigation determines the nature of the violation, such as a false address, failure to register or proximity to restricted zones, according to the West Sacramento Police Department. Penalties are enhanced for repeat offenders and offenders under supervision. A supervised offender could see a detention or revocation hearing if a violation report is issued. 

“In some cases, agencies work with housing authorities or parole to relocate the offender if their presence near a school poses a threat,” a West Sacramento Police Department spokesperson told Messenger Publishing Group.

According to the West Sacramento Police Department, public awareness campaigns might increase patrols or distribute literature in neighborhoods with known offenders, “especially near schools.” 

The Commission on Teacher Credentialing does not track which “child crime sexual” classified cases of misconduct resulted in adverse action or how many credential holders had action taken against them because of registering as a sex offender, a commission spokesperson said. However, the commission is required to take mandatory action on holders or applicants who are required to register as a sex offender. 

On the San Juan Unified School District’s website, there is a form that can be submitted by name or unanimously that informs the district of possible misconduct, known as the safety concern reporting tool. It can be found on the district’s website at https://www.sanjuan.edu/resources/safety-resources/submitting-a-safety-concern. To see more information about San Juan Unified’s family conversation resources, visit https://www.sanjuan.edu/resources/mental-health-support/family-conversation-resources. 

“I would say, being open and honest with your child, talking to them about their day and their experiences with their teachers is very important,” Cuddeback said. “Trying to understand those feelings because kids have great intuition, so kids would tell you if they’ve got a weird feeling about an educator or someone acting inappropriately.”

Opening that line of communication as a parent could encourage the child to divulge more information to someone they trust, where they otherwise might be too afraid to share, Cuddeback said. Sometimes, children are embarrassed to speak up, fearing the backlash from someone in a position of power, such as an educator or beloved figure in a public setting, according to Cuddeback. 

Predators are going where the kids are and kids are online, Cuddeback said. Regarding his office in El Dorado County, he said, the number of cases keep going up, with 2020 being a huge year for child sexual abuse material (CSAM). He said incidents involving a popular online game amongst children called Roblox has been a “very scary situation.”

Available on smartphones, personal computers, game consoles and online, Roblox is a game with the stated intention of being “the ultimate virtual universe that lets you create, share experiences with friends, and be anything you can imagine,” according to its website. 

According to a Newsweek article in April, 40% of Roblox’s users are under the age of 13, meaning children make up the majority of its 85.3-million daily active users. 

Journalist Chris Hansen, known for his Dateline NBC program “To Catch a Predator,” announced on his X feed that his streaming network, Tru Blu, is producing a documentary on the gaming company, featuring interviews with law enforcement and alleged victims.

Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill filed a formal lawsuit against Roblox in the state’s court and Representative Ro Khanna from California filed a petition in favor of protecting children on the platform, according to a Forbes article on Aug. 15.

Cuddeback said it’s important to monitor a child’s activity on the internet and be wary of a child’s behavior if it suddenly changes. 

“Things like spending more time in their room, spending more time that usual on the internet, not wanting to show their screen, closing their laptop quickly or shutting down browsers applications when the parent enters the room, mood swings, becoming very upset when they are unable to get on the internet, odd gifts showing up at the home or other behavior changes,” Cuddeback said. 

For resources if someone shares explicit content of the minor online, visit https://www.NCMEC.org/gethelpnow/isyourexplicitcontentoutthere. To help minors get any images or videos of themselves posted online without their consent https://takeitdown.ncmec.org/. 

Resources for parents and children to understand and navigate any type of online “sextortion” are available at https://www.NCMEC.org/theissues/sextortion. For help or victim and family support, visit https://www.NCMEC.org/gethelpnow/support or email [email protected].