The boy’s family said he disappeared as the clinician accused of exploiting him awaits further court proceedings.
LANCASTER, Calif. — A California teenager has been reported missing after prosecutors charged his former Contra Costa County therapist with seven felonies alleging that she had sexual contact with him after his release from juvenile detention, according to authorities and the boy’s family.
The teenager’s mother told the New York Post that she filed a runaway report with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department after he left the family’s Lancaster-area home. She said she feared he might attempt to contact Sofia Ann-Buitron Drotts, the former behavioral health clinician charged in the case. The Sheriff’s Department had not issued a publicly accessible missing-person bulletin confirming the circumstances of the report as of Sunday.
The boy’s identity is being withheld because he is a minor and the alleged victim of sexual abuse. Public reports have not provided a confirmed date or time when he was last seen, a description of the clothing he was wearing or information about where investigators believe he may have gone. No verified public evidence reviewed Sunday showed that the teenager was with Drotts or had communicated with her after leaving home.
Drotts, 26, of San Francisco, was charged July 27 with seven felony counts, the Contra Costa County District Attorney’s Office said. The complaint includes two counts of unlawful sexual intercourse, two counts involving oral copulation with a person under 18, one count of sexual penetration, two counts of sending harmful material to a minor and one count of possessing child or youth sexual-abuse material.
The charges are allegations and have not been proven in court. CBS News Bay Area reported that Drotts had not entered a plea as of July 28. Prosecutors said Contra Costa County Superior Court would schedule an arraignment, where she would be formally advised of the charges and given an opportunity to enter a plea.
According to prosecutors, Drotts worked as a behavioral health clinician at the John A. Davis Juvenile Detention Center in Martinez and was assigned to counsel the teenager. The District Attorney’s Office described him as 17 when the criminal investigation began. Prosecutors allege that Drotts and the teenager had a sexual relationship between April 1 and July 14 after he was released from detention.
Concord police arrested Drotts on July 14 after detectives received information from a Contra Costa County Probation Department supervisor, authorities said. Police said investigators found evidence supporting allegations that a temporary county health employee had engaged in inappropriate sexual conduct with a juvenile. The case was referred to prosecutors about a week after the arrest.
Police said they had not identified any additional alleged victims. The department described the investigation as continuing and declined to release further details about the evidence or circumstances that led to the arrest.
The teenager’s parents also filed a government claim against Contra Costa County, Contra Costa Health and other public agencies. The filing is a required step before pursuing certain civil claims against a government agency in California. It contains allegations that are separate from the criminal case and have not been decided by a court.
The family’s claim alleges that Drotts began grooming the teenager while serving as his therapist in juvenile detention and continued treating him after his release. The claim also alleges that she encouraged him to miss school, disregard his curfew and spend time at her San Francisco home. Attorney John Burris, who represents the family, has accused county agencies of failing to recognize warning signs and adequately supervise the clinician.
Contra Costa Health told CBS News Bay Area that it was aware of the claim involving a former temporary employee. The agency said it could not comment further because the allegations involve active legal and personnel matters. County officials have said they are cooperating with law enforcement.
The criminal prosecution, the family’s potential civil case and the reported search for the teenager are separate matters. Authorities had not publicly announced Drotts’ next court date or released a verified update on the teenager’s whereabouts as of Sunday.
Author note: Last updated August 2, 2026.