A Sierra Conservation Center employee was arrested July 1 at the state prison near Jamestown following a months-long investigation by Tuolumne County Sheriff’s detectives into allegations of child sexual abuse.
Tuolumne County District Attorney Cassandra Jenecke said on Monday that her office was still reviewing the case and had yet to file formal charges against Rick Dean Crook, 62, of Sonora, who’s scheduled to appear for an arraignment Aug. 5 in Tuolumne County Superior Court.
Crook was booked into county jail July 1 on suspicion of lewd or lascivious acts with a child under 14, possessing child pornography, annoying or molesting a child under 18, continuous sexual abuse of a child, and using a device to spy on someone without their knowledge in a place where privacy is expected.
He was released from jail the following morning after posting bail, which was set at $150,000, according to Sheriff’s Office records.
Jail booking logs listed the location of Crook’s arrest as 510 O’Byrnes Ferry Road, though Sheriff’s spokeswoman Deputy Ashley Boujikian confirmed he was arrested by detectives at SCC about 1 p.m. The prison’s address is 5100 O’Byrnes Ferry Road, Jamestown.
Lt. Ruben Jauregui, spokesman for SCC, confirmed that Crook is employed at the prison as a heavy truck driver.
Crook started working for the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation at SCC in 2008 as an automotive equipment operator, before being assigned to his current position in 2012, Jauregui said.
When pressed last week for comment from the prison about Crook’s arrest and how or whether it would affect his employment, Jauregui responded that Crook “is employed at SCC” and deferred all other questions to the Sheriff’s Office as the investigating agency.
Boujikian said she did not have information related to Crook’s job in an email exchange last week regarding the case.
Crook’s arrest stemmed from an investigation that began on April 4 into a report of past sexual abuse by a relative, Boujikian said.
Sheriff’s detectives reportedly interviewed Crook and served a search warrant on his Phoenix Lake Road home to gather evidence prior to arresting him at SCC, though Boujikian did not provide any further details about what they found or exactly when that occurred.
Boujikian said nothing further would be released because the investigation is still ongoing.
