Santa Cruz mental health specialist arrested on child sex assault charges

As reported by KSBW

A 56-year-old man who works as a mental health specialist for Santa Cruz County was arrested Thursday morning.

Christopher McCauley is a well-known mental health specialist and community liaison at the county's Health Services Agency. According to his Facebook page, he works with children for the Health Services Agency. He was booked into jail on suspicion of sexually assaulting a child who is younger than 11 years old. His bail was set at $100,000.

Sheriff's deputies said Child Protective Services agents alerted them about McCauley's inappropriate behavior. McCauley was arrested by sheriff's deputies at 1400 Emeline Ave., where he works in the county health department's building. McCauley is the first person who schools are instructed to call under the Santa Cruz County School Emergency Mental Heath Response Protocol.

Rayne Marr, Public Information Officer for Santa Cruz County, issued the following prepared statement to KSBW:

"This morning a county mental health client specialist in the Health Services Agency was arrested. The county is cooperating fully with law enforcement officials and remains steadfast in our commitment to providing a safe and secure environment for our clients. As you know, the employee does have a right to privacy and the county cannot comment on an ongoing law enforcement investigation," Marr said.

When asked if McCauley worked with children for the county, she declined to comment. Calls to McCauley's work phone number were not returned.

The Sheriff’s Office believes that there may be more victims. Anyone with information pertaining to this investigation is asked to contact the Santa Cruz Sheriff's Office Sexual Assault Unit at 831-454-7630.