The incidents occurred between July and December 2022 and concerned three unrelated boys who on the time have been seven, eight, and 11-years previous.
SAN DIEGO — The San Diego Police Division’s Youngster Abuse Unit arrested 22-year-old Zayne St. Julien of Poway in reference to a sequence of kid molestation instances and investigators at the moment are searching for further victims, police stated Wednesday.
The incidents occurred between July and December 2022 and concerned three unrelated boys who on the time have been seven, eight, and 11-years previous, in accordance with the San Diego Police Division.
“This particular person is somebody who must be trusted. You’re hiring somebody to handle your little one,” stated Lt. Carmelin Rivera, San Diego Police Division.
In keeping with police, in every case, the boys’ mother and father employed St. Julien. St. Julien was a part of a web-based platform referred to as Sittercity, which connects babysitters with households looking for little one care.
One of many mother and father reported the molestation of her little one to authorities in November, SDPD stated.
Detectives instantly started to research and with the help of Sittercity personnel, two different boys have been recognized as victims. Police say their mother and father reported their youngsters’s molestations to detectives in December.
St. Julien reportedly dedicated every molestation within the boys’ houses, in accordance with SDPD.
“These incidents occurred within the precise houses of those boys, there’s no explicit group that was focused, they have been from all around the metropolis – these instances, doubtlessly all around the county,” added Lt. Rivera.
On Dec. 20, SDPD and the San Diego Harbor Police Division arrested St. Julien as he was getting off an airplane at San Diego Worldwide Airport. He was booked into San Diego County Jail on a number of little one molestation expenses.
He’s at the moment being held on $1.2 million bond, and is scheduled to be arraigned on 5 little one molestation expenses on Thursday afternoon.
Police are asking anybody with info concerning these incidents, or believes St. Julien might have focused different victims, to name the San Diego Police Division Youngster Abuse Unit at (619) 531-2260 or Crime Stoppers at (888) 580-8477.
In a press release to CBS 8, a spokesperson for Sittercity defined that St. Julien handed practically a dozen background checks, including that “information like that is heartbreaking.”
“Mr. St. Julien had been lively on the Sittercity platform since June 2019, and previous to this incident, Sittercity by no means acquired any complaints about him. Since becoming a member of Sittercity, 11 background checks have been accomplished on him with none figuring out any prison historical past.,” stated Christine Reimert of Sittercity.
“Upon receiving a grievance about Mr. St. Julien, we instantly contacted the police, terminated him from the platform, and notified any household with whom he had ever communicated,” she added.
Reimert additionally clarified that the caregivers on Sittercity aren’t staff of the corporate. Sittercity is a web-based platform the place caregivers and households join.
Right here is the entire assertion from Sittercity:
Sittercity was based on the dedication to offer a secure, trusted platform the place households choose and rent native caregivers. As an organization of mothers and dads, ourselves, information like that is heartbreaking. Whereas Sittercity doesn’t make use of or suggest caregivers, we actively leverage instruments and sources to display screen and monitor caregivers, together with id authentication, intercourse offender registry checks and background checks, amongst different proactive safeguards each at registration and whereas lively on the platform.
Mr. St. Julien had been lively on the Sittercity platform since June 2019, and previous to this incident, Sittercity by no means acquired any complaints about him. Since becoming a member of Sittercity, 11 background checks have been accomplished on him with none figuring out any prison historical past. Upon receiving a grievance about Mr. St. Julien, we instantly contacted the police, terminated him from the platform, and notified any household with whom he had ever communicated.
As an trade chief, Sittercity works intently with legislation enforcement, coverage makers and trade friends to advance safeguards and essentially the most up-to-date security and safety measures that may improve the power of households to take advantage of knowledgeable selections when selecting care suppliers.
Particularly 5 of the background checks have been enhanced prison checks and 6 of the background checks have been primary prison checks. You’ll be able to be taught extra about every background verify right here: https://www.sittercity.com/background-checks/whats-covered
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