A California behavioral clinician is facing multiple felony charges after she allegedly groomed and sexually assaulted a teenage boy, according to authorities.
The Contra Costa District Attorney’s Office said in a statement that 26-year-old Sofia Ann-Buitron Drotts of San Francisco is facing two counts of unlawful sexual intercourse, two counts of oral copulation of a person under 18 years of age, two counts of sending harmful matter to a minor, one count of sexual penetration by a foreign object, and one count of possession of child or youth pornography.
‘We trusted this professional with our son’s healing and well-being, and that trust was fundamentally shattered.’
The statement noted that Drotts was a behavioral health clinician at the John A. Davis Juvenile Detention Center in Martinez.
The district attorney’s office said Drotts was assigned as the alleged victim’s therapist.
“During the two years in which Doe was incarcerated at the juvenile hall, Drotts abused her position as his therapist to establish an inappropriate emotional connection with Doe, ‘grooming’ him with the objective of sexual abuse,” according to court papers the New York Post obtained.
SFGate reported that John Burris, who represents the boy’s family, claimed Drotts began grooming the teen in 2024 when he was 14 or 15 years old.
Drotts continued seeing the boy and his mother as a county therapist after he was released, according to the Post.
The statement said after the alleged victim was released from detention, Drotts engaged in a sexual relationship with him between April 1 and July 14 of this year.
Citing Burris, the Post reported that Drotts later “masqueraded as the teen’s girlfriend” and used a burner phone to stay in contact with him after he was released from custody.
Burris accused Drotts of meeting the teen in her car and in her apartment.
The Post, citing Burris, added that Drotts “schemed” to build trust with the teen’s mother through extended phone calls during which she assured the mom that her son was progressing well during his incarceration.
“Drotts would participate in these meetings with the mother, and she would speak in glorious details about how well he was doing, and at the same time she was having secret meetings with him,” Burris said.
Burris said Drotts encouraged the teenager to skip school and violate his curfew by spending the night with her.
“Turns out he was spending the night with this woman. The mother was duped,” Burris noted.
“The duplicitous nature of it is really outrageous,” Burris stated. “She’s engaged in this nefarious conduct, and she’s covering her tracks with different kinds of lies.”
A supervisor at the county’s probation department provided a tip about the alleged relationship to the Concord Police Department, according to the DA.
Following a “thorough investigation,” police arrested Drotts on July 14, the statement said.
SFGate reported that the family has filed a claim against Contra Costa County.
The claim accuses Drotts of encouraging the boy to miss school and ignore his curfew “to rendezvous with Drotts in violation of his probation.”
The claim states that a “team of county agents and supervisors failed to identify the red flags or supervise Drotts, and so the sexual abuse continued.”
KNTV-TV reported, “The claim targets Contra Costa County, Contra Costa Health, Contra Costa County Juvenile Detention and Contra Costa County Juvenile Probation Department, among other agencies.”
The mother of the alleged victim said Drotts betrayed her family: “We trusted this professional with our son’s healing and well-being, and that trust was fundamentally shattered.”
A second report from the New York Post noted that the teen’s mother said the family had come forward to protect other potential victims of abuse.
“We are speaking out to ensure that no other family has to endure this pain, and to encourage anyone else who may have been harmed to find the strength to come forward,” the mother explained.
Burris added, “We hope the criminal process will go forward expeditiously, and we will go forward in our civil case.”
Contra Costa Health told KPIX-TV that it’s “aware of the claim filed against the county involving a former temporary employee and allegations involving a minor. Because this is an active legal and personnel matter, Contra Costa Health cannot provide additional comment at this time.”
Drotts has been released from jail, according to the Contra Costa Sheriff’s Office.
The John A. Davis Juvenile Hall did not immediately respond to Blaze News‘ request for comment.
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Grooming, California, Child sex abuse, Crime, Therapist, Teenage boy
