By Emily Mibach
Daily Post Staff Writer
A handful of lawsuits have been filed against San Mateo County saying a probation officer, who is now dead, sexually abused boys at the former juvenile hall.
The assaults occurred at the hands of the late John Domeniconi at the Hillcrest juvenile hall from 1994 to 2002 on teenage boys, the suits contend. None of the 10 victims are named in the lawsuits, only referred to as “John Doe” with initials as middle names, such as “John RA Doe.” Since they were abused as children, they do not need to use their names in the lawsuits.
The 10 lawsuits filed in San Mateo County Superior Court are all similar, detailing similar assaults by Domeniconi where he would show affection to the teenage boys living at the former Hillcrest Juvenile Detention Hall, making them sit near him and touch him inappropriately. In some cases, he would tell the boys he wanted to adopt them, the suits claim.
Almost all of the lawsuits say that Domeniconi would remove the boys from their cells to strip search them with no one else present and with no explanation.
The lawsuits allege that the administration at the juvenile hall ignored concerns about Domeniconi and that no attorney or advocate was provided to the young men to help protect them.
The lawsuits were filed under state law, AB218, which extends the statute of limitations for sexual abuse cases to be brought in civil court. The lawsuits were filed by former San Mateo Mayor Joe Goethals and former Belmont Mayor Charles Stone, who are both private attorneys.
“I look forward to investigating these allegations fully and do everything to take care of the youth (in the county’s care) to the fullest of our ability,” said the county’s Chief Probation officer John Keene. “If anyone behaves outside of (the law), we take immediate action.”
Keene said given the circumstances, it may be a complicated investigation given that the alleged offender is dead. But Keene said he is taking these matters extremely seriously.
Keene said there can be times when officers are one-on-one with youths at the facility. But, he said, there are processes set up so there are multiple officers on every shift. All officers at the facility are “mandated reporters” of sexual assault, meaning they’re required to report it, and there are procedures in place for the youth at the facility to file grievances.
In a statement, the county’s Juvenile Justice Commission says it is aware of the lawsuits and is monitoring them, saying they take the complaints “extremely seriously.”
“Prior to these cases being made public, our commission was unaware of these allegations, which were not disclosed to us in our monthly meetings or annual inspections. Our commission has formed a committee to review the policies, practices and procedures at each juvenile detention facility to help ensure the physical and emotional well-being of every child placed into detention in San Mateo County.”
Hillcrest, which is where the alleged abuse occurred, was torn down and the new juvenile hall, called the Youth Services Center, opened in 2006.
The county also has Camp Kemp, which is for rehabilitating girls who enter the justice system.