The City of Walnut Creek has released the confidential investigative report about the Lesher Center employee who was charged with unlawful sexual conduct with children. Read the entire report here.
From the city website:
At the direction of the Walnut Creek City Council, the City today is releasing an independent investigator’s report that examines City employees’ actions, or failure to act, upon learning of alleged improper and/or illegal behavior by part-time employee Jason Pedroza. The report is available on the City’s website.
The report states that on Nov. 3, 2012, certain City staff learned of allegations that Pedroza, 28, sent inappropriate texts and Facebook messages to a 13-year-old Danville girl he met while both were actors in a Contra Costa Musical Theatre production, a non-profit theatrical company that performs at the Lesher Center.
City staff took “proactive steps” to “protect minors at the Lesher Center for the Arts, not to hinder efforts by any law enforcement agency – including the Walnut Creek Police Department – to investigate suspected child abuse,” the report states.
Those steps included terminating Pedroza on Nov. 8, and removing him from the cast of an upcoming Center REP production.
In addition, the report notes that staff knew the Danville Police were investigating the Nov. 3 allegations.
The internal investigation also finds in part that:
- The Danville Police concluded on Nov. 11 that no crime had occurred in relation to Pedroza’s messages to the 13-year-old girl.
- Until Nov. 3, none of the witnesses interviewed was aware of, or suspected, that Jason Pedroza had been acting appropriately in any way with minors.
- No witness interviewed had observed, or was aware of, inappropriate contact between minors and adults at the Lesher Center for the Arts.
The internal investigation also finds that the City Manager and Assistant City Manager knew about the Nov. 3 allegations and did not share that information prior to being interviewed in connection with the internal investigation.
