Sofia Drotts lauded UW-Madison therapist grooms teen before sexually abusing Contra Costa boy upon his release from juvenile facility.
The family of a boy who was allegedly groomed and sexually abused by a Contra Costa County, California therapist while he was incarcerated has filed a claim against the county.
Sofia Drotts, 26, of San Francisco behavioral health clinician was charged on Monday with unlawful sexual interc**rse along with other sex crime charges according to the Contra Costa District Attorney’s Office.
According to court papers, Drotts is alleged to have groomed the teen from age 14 — before sexually assaulting him for three months after leaving a juvenile hall.
According to documents, after the boy was released, he would ignore curfew and stay overnight at times at Drotts’ San Francisco home.
The mother of the victim, who has not been identified, said Drotts betrayed her family, the Mercury News reported.
‘We trusted this professional with our son’s healing and well-being, and that trust was fundamentally shattered,’ the teen’s mother told the outlet. ‘Our focus now is entirely on our son’s recovery and protection.’
At the time, the boy, identified as John Doe in the claim, and aged 14-15 at the time, was serving two years in Contra Costa County Juvenile Hall, where Drotts was assigned as his 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,’ the claim states.
After the child was released on probation, Drotts continued to serve as his therapist through Contra Costa Health and allegedly had ‘unlawful sexual contact’ with him.
Prosecutors allege Drotts r*ping the boy between April 1 and July 14, following the teen’s release.
Drotts was arrested by Concord Police on July 14, after cops received a tip from a supervisor at the probation department, prosecutors said. The boy’s family has filed a separate civil case against the county over the matter.
Drotts has since been released, according to the Contra Costa Sheriff’s office.
The boy’s mother said the family came forward to protect other victims of abuse.
Attorney John Burris, who represents the boy’s family, said the county’s system failed to protect his client from Drotts.
‘Whatever protocols were in place to monitor young probationary employees did not work, and as a consequence of this, my young man was vulnerable to her conduct,’ he said.
University of Wisconsin at Madison graduate praised by her school
Drotts a graduate from the University of Wisconsin at Madison was singled out for praise by the school in a 2022 Instagram post that identified her as a psychology major with certificates in criminal justice, gender and women studies, and chicano/a latino/a studies.
‘After graduation, she’s off to the Golden State to pursue a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology at Palo Alto University,’ read the post. ‘Way to go, Sofia!’
Drotts identified herself as a Spanish speaker and Chicago native on an author page for publication where she contributed a number of articles on college life.
Drotts is scheduled to be arraigned Wednesday, July 29.
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