Hanna Boys Center Director On Leave Amid Sex Abuse Allegations: Statement

SONOMA COUNTY, CA -- Following the arrest of a Rohnert Park man Saturday on allegations that he sexually abused a teenage boy who was under his care at Hanna Boys Center, officials with the Sonoma Valley residential treatment center for at-risk boys has issued a statement.

"Hanna Boys Center continues to cooperate fully with both the police and the state licensing board in the investigation of Kevin Thorpe, Hanna’s clinical director, who has been placed on unpaid administrative leave until the matter is resolved.

"The arrest of Mr. Thorpe has shocked and saddened the Hanna community, as the care, safety and well-being of our students has always been and remains our highest priority.

"Hanna Boys Center is a nationally recognized residential treatment center and high school that has been helping troubled boys turn their lives around for more than 70 years. The center adheres to all licensing and government requirements for vetting staff members, conducting a comprehensive regimen of criminal and background checks as part of the rigorous hiring process. The center is proud of its history of successfully counseling thousands of boys, who have gone on to become productive members of society."

The Sonoma County Sheriff's Office reported Thorpe's arrest Monday.

Thorpe, 39, became the subject of an investigation June 1 when a 23-year-old man reported that he had been a victim of sexual abuse while residing at the Hanna Boys Center between 2006 and 2011, according to Sonoma sheriff's Sgt. Spencer Crum.

Thorpe was 28 years old and working as the boy's counselor when the abuse allegedly began. The victim told sheriff's investigators he was 13 years old at the time, and that the abuse continued until he was 18 -- occurring not only at the Hanna Boys Center campus but at Thorpe's home, according to the sergeant.

"Detectives from the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office’s Domestic Violence/Sexual Assault Unit investigated the man’s claims and they feel there is sufficient evidence to believe Thorpe sexually assaulted the victim as a teenager," Crum said.

Thorpe remains jailed in lieu of $300,000 bail.

He was arraigned in Sonoma County Superior Court Tuesday afternoon on three felony counts of oral copulation with a minor by coercion or duress. Thorpe delayed entering a plea and his next court date is June 27.

He faces a maximum 24 years in prison if convicted.

Bay City News Service contributed to this report.

Image via Sonoma County Sheriff's Office