Watsonville city employee facing child molestation charges appears in court

WATSONVILLE, Calif. (KION) A Watsonville city employee accused of molesting a teenage boy made his first court appearance Thursday.

The suspect, Matthew Jimenez, did not enter a plea. At his next arraignment, he will be given a lawyer., according to Assistant District Attorney Steven Moore.

KION received the complaint against Jimenez. According to the complaint, he is facing charges of sodomy of a person under 16, oral copulation of a person under 16 and child molestation.

According to the City of Watsonville, police learned about the alleged assault of a 16-year-old more than a year ago, and through an investigation, confirmed with the teen what had been reported.

Jimenez was arrested Monday morning.

The city says Jimenez was hired in 2015 as a part-time Parks and Community Services employee where he worked with youth at the GHWR Youth Center, and more recently, in the city's special events division.

According to a release by the city, it is unaware of other potential victims and said there were no known prior incidents involving Jimenez.

His next court date is set for February 13.