Former city aide takes plea bargain in youth sex case

A former on-call support aide for the city of East Palo Alto accused of sexually abusing a 13-year-old boy took a plea bargain and faces up to three years and eight months in prison, a prosecutor said.

Rafael Prado, 29, of Redwood City, allegedly met the 13-year-old boy at the East Palo Alto library while he was an employee of the city, and they followed each other on Instagram, according to District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe.

Prado eventually sent the boy a photo of his genitals, and over time their relationship became sexual, with Prado inviting the boy to parties and introducing him to drugs, including meth and cocaine, according to Wagstaffe. The boy was homeless when he contacted police in April 2025, Wagstaffe said.

Did community outreach for city

Prado worked as an on-call, part-time support aide for the city for a few years, until April 2, 2025, according to a previous statement by East Palo Alto City Manager Melvin Gaines. He did not work in the library but helped during community outreach, Covid vaccination clinics and office tasks, Gaines said.

The city was notified of Prado’s arrest in June, two months after he stopped working for the city, Gaines said.

Councilman Carlos Romero wrote a reference letter on city letterhead for Prado earlier this year, urging the judge to consider all of the facts when deciding whether to lower Prado’s bail.

This led to Mayor Webster Lincoln asking Romero to resign in March.

Romero remains on council despite the outcry from Lincoln and Councilman Mark Dinan over the letter. Romero said he wrote the letter after Prado’s mother called him in tears asking for help for her son.

Prado remains in jail on no-bail status. He will be sentenced on Aug. 21.