Safeway Worker Sexually Abuses Girl In Bethesda Store: Police

Editor's note: Because the girl is a juvenile, her name has been omitted from this story.

BETHESDA, MD — Authorities have arrested a man they say sexually abused an underage girl in a storage room at a Bethesda Safeway.

Kevin Taffo-Sanchez, 23, was charged with two counts of third-degree sex offense, court records show.

According to Montgomery County Police, Taffo-Sanchez was 21 years old when he met the 14-year-old girl at the grocery store on Bradley Boulevard. At the time, Taffo-Sanchez was working at a Stabucks Kiosk inside the Safeway.

The girl, now 16, told detectives she met him at Starbucks before leaving for school one morning in late 2017. Taffo-Sanchez took her to a storage room in the basement of the store, where he sexually assaulted her, officials said.

According to court records, the underage girl told authorities that she and Taffo-Sanchez were in a consensual sexual relationship from November of 2017 to July of 2018. The pair engaged in sexual activity multiple times over the course of their relationship, officials said.

In March of 2019, authorities interviewed Taffo-Sanchez about his relationship with the underage girl. Taffo-Sanchez, who is now 23 years old, admitted that they were in a relationship and had sex on multiple occasions, including in the storage room of the Safeway, court documents show.

"Kevin stated (she) told him she was 14 prior to their first sexual encounter in the storage room. Kevin stated each sexual incident was consensual and he never forced (her) to do anything she did not want to do," the detective working on the case said in court documents.

An arrest warrant was issued on April 17. Taffo-Sanchez, who has been arrested and charged for third-degree sex offenses, is scheduled to appear in court on May 17.