Williams v. Cnty. of Monterey
| Decision Date | 26 March 2021 |
| Docket Number | Case No. 19-cv-01811-BLF |
| Parties | MONIA WILLIAMS, individually and as Guardian ad Litem for L.S. and Q.S, minors, Plaintiffs, v. COUNTY OF MONTEREY, et al., Defendants. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Northern District of California |
[Re: ECF 115, 116]
Monia Williams filed this suit on behalf of herself and her minor children, daughter L.S. and son Q.S., following removal of the children from her custody. The children were out of Williams' custody for three months, at which time the juvenile dependency proceedings arising from the removal were dismissed. Plaintiffs assert claims under federal and state law against the County of Monterey, the City of Salinas, and individual County social workers and City police officers who were involved in the removal.
Before the Court are two motions for summary judgment. One motion is brought by the County of Monterey and its social worker employees Linda Castillo, Justin Ricks, Charlene Lord, Christine Lerable, Chelsea Chacon, and Rebecca Barron. The other motion is brought by the City of Salinas and its law enforcement officers Guadalupe Gonzalez, Blake Ziebell, and Dana Cornelison. In response to the motions, Plaintiffs concede certain claims and argue that disputed facts preclude summary judgment on other claims.
Both motions for summary judgment are GRANTED IN PART AND DENIED IN PART for the reasons discussed below.
County Social Worker Castillo Investigates Possible Sexual Abuse of L.S.
On Friday, May 4, 2018, County of Monterey social worker Linda Castillo was dispatched to the elementary school attended by eight-year-old twins L.S. and Q.S. in response to a teacher's report of potential sexual abuse of L.S. See Castillo Decl. ¶ 5, ECF 115-8. The referral included the information that L.S.'s brother, Q.S., had told a teacher that he gets "sad" when the children's uncle takes L.S. to another room for "secret special time." Id.
Castillo interviewed Q.S., who told her that when the children's Uncle Pat comes to the house, he takes L.S. upstairs with him but tells Q.S. to stay downstairs. See Castillo Decl. ¶¶ 6-8. Q.S. stated that Uncle Pat told L.S. about licking, and that Uncle Pat is nice to L.S. but mean to him. See id. Q.S. stated that he told his mother (Williams) about Uncle Pat doing licks with L.S., but Williams responded by asking why Uncle Pat would do such a thing and telling Q.S. that he could not tell anyone about it. See id. ¶ 9. When Castillo asked what exactly he was not supposed to tell about, Q.S. wrote a word on a piece of paper that Castillo read as "sexes." See id.
Castillo next interviewed L.S., who initially said she had not been touched in a way that made her uncomfortable, but subsequently indicated that she had been touched on the foot, back, buttocks, vaginal area, and face by circling those areas on a picture of a girl. See Castillo Decl. ¶ 11. L.S. also circled the buttocks, hand, and penis on a picture of a boy, indicating that she'd seen those body parts on "Pat." See id. L.S. said that Pat had put "this," pointing to the penis on the boy picture, "here," pointing to the vagina on the girl picture. See id. She also pointed to the penis on the boy picture and said "lollipop." See id. Castillo asked L.S. about the game "licks," and L.S. said Pat wanted her to lick the lollipop but she did not do it. See id. ¶ 12. L.S. then said that she did it only one time. See id.
Castillo could not determine whether Q.S. and L.S. understood the difference between truth and lie, and thus she could not qualify them for courtroom testimony. See Castillo Decl. ¶¶ 7, 10, 14. However, Castillo believed the children and believed sexual abuse had occurred. See id. ¶ 14. She contacted law enforcement and asked that an officer come to the school. Id. ¶ 15.
Two City of Salinas police officers arrived at the school shortly before 5:00 p.m., Field Training Officer Guadalupe Gonzalez (also referred to as Guadalupe Rodriguez) and Trainee Officer Blake Ziebell. See Gonzalez Decl. ¶ 4 & Exh. 1 (Police Report), ECF 116-1. The officers spoke with Castillo, who gave them a summary of her interviews with Q.S. and L.S. See Gonzalez Decl. ¶ 6 & Exh. 1 (Police Report). Gonzalez and Ziebell then interviewed several individuals. See Gonzalez Decl. ¶ 8; Pls.' Joint Exhibits, ECF 124.
Q.S. told the officers that he thought Uncle Pat and his sister were having sex, but then he said they weren't having sex. See Pls.' Joint Exhibits, Exh. C1 at 13 (). Q.S. described walking into a bedroom and seeing his sister on the bed while Uncle Pat kneeled next to the bed, both dressed. See id. at 14.
L.S. told the officers that Uncle Pat used to come over weekly but did not come over anymore. See Pls.' Joint Exhibits, Exh. D1 at 4 (). She said that Uncle Pat touched her chest, feet, belly, and private parts. See id. at 6-7. She also said Uncle Pat liked to play the game Lolly, or lollipop, and that his penis was called a lollipop. See id. 8-9. L.S. reported that Uncle Pat asked her to touch his lollipop but she said no. See id. at 13. L.S. said Uncle Pat had not come over for five weeks. See id. at 11-12.
Officer Ziebell next spoke to Williams, who had arrived at the school to pick up her children. See Pls.' Joint Exhibits, Exh. E1 (). Williams stated that LaPatrick Carroll is her brother, that Pat has his own apartment, and that Pat had not been to her home for a month. See id. at 1, 6. She refused to entertain the idea that Pat could have touched her children, stating that it was "hog-wash" and "a waste of time," and that kids can make things up. Id. at 2-8.
Teacher Jacob Evans, teacher Jessica Holt, and teacher's aide Whitney Lopez all indicated that Q.S. and L.S. are truthful children. See Pls.' Joint Exhibits, Exh. H1 at 3 (); I1 at 1-2, 4 (); J1 at 1 (). Lopez described L.S. as clingy, and said L.S. had written aletter asking Lopez to be her mother. Pls.' Joint Exhibits, Exh. H1 at 1 (). Evans, who reported the suspected abuse, said that Q.S. had described how his uncle made him stay downstairs while taking L.S. upstairs for "secret special time." Pls.' Joint Exhibits, Exh. I1 at 2 ().
Castillo had to leave the school at the end of her workday. See Lerable Decl. ¶ 7, ECF 115-4. The County's investigation was taken over by standby Emergency Response social worker Justin Ricks. See id. When Ricks arrived at the school, Castillo told him that L.S. had been subject to sexual abuse in the home of her mother, Williams, that L.S.'s twin brother Q.S. had told Williams about the abuse, and that Williams had not believed Q.S. but instead had instructed him not to tell anyone. See Ricks Decl. ¶ 5, ECF 115-3.
Ricks spoke to Williams and offered her two options to ensure the children's safety during the investigation of alleged sexual abuse - having a family member take the children or have the children taken into protective custody by the County. See Pls.' Joint Exhibits, Exh. F1 (). Williams said the children could go to her sister, Regina Mason, and placed a telephone call to Mason. See id. at 1-2; Pls.' Joint Exhibits, Exh. G1 at 1 (). A three-way conversation ensued between Ricks, Williams, and Mason, during which Ricks attempted to make a plan for Mason to come get the children. See Pls.' Joint Exhibits, Exh. G1 at 1-2 (). Mason, a former Monterey County social worker, interrupted Ricks, insisted the children should stay with Williams, and threatened to call Ricks' superiors at the County. See id. 1-12. Williams denied that Pat could have touched L.S. and stated that children make things up. See id. at 16-23. The conversation ended with Mason saying she was on her way to the school but would be making calls while driving, presumably the threatened calls to Ricks' superiors. See id. at 27.
Ricks subsequently proposed sending the children home with Whitney Lopez, the teacher'saide L.S. had asked to be her mom, explaining that Lopez was a licensed foster parent. See Pls.' Joint Exhibits, Exh. K1 at 1 (). Williams refused. See id. at 1-2. Ricks stated that he needed to call his superiors. See id.
Ricks spoke on the telephone with his superiors Charlene Lord and Christine Lerable several times during the evening. See Ricks Decl. ¶ 11; Lord Decl. ¶ 6, ECF 115-5; Lerable Decl. ¶¶ 9-12, ECF 115-4. Lord was the standby Supervisor. See Lord Decl. ¶ 6; Lerable Decl. ¶ 7. Lerable was acting as the Program Manager for the incident because the regular Emergency Response Program Manager had recused herself based on a personal relationship with Williams. See id. ¶ 11. Ricks also spoke with law enforcement officers that were present at the school. See id. ¶ 12. Those officers included Officer Gonzalez, Officer Ziebell, and Sergeant Dana Cornelison. See Ziebell Dep. 177:3-17, ECF 134-2.
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