A California behavioral health clinician is facing serious felony charges over allegations that she sexually abused a teenager. Sofia Drotts, 26, of San Francisco, was charged by Bay Area prosecutors in connection with the case. The allegations are disturbing and involve a former juvenile hall resident who was reportedly under Drotts’ care while she worked as a clinician.
According to prosecutors, Drotts allegedly groomed the teenager before the relationship became sexual. Authorities further allege that the abuse continued for about three months after the boy left juvenile hall.
Therapists are placed in positions of trust. Their clients often depend on them for guidance and support during difficult periods in their lives. That trust becomes even more important when the client is a teenager involved in the juvenile justice system.
Prosecutors allege that Drotts crossed that professional boundary in a serious way. The charges include unlawful sexual intercourse.
The mother of the victim, who has not been identified, said Drotts betrayed her family.
“We trusted this professional with our son’s healing and well-being, and that trust was fundamentally shattered,” the teen’s mother said. “Our focus now is entirely on our son’s recovery and protection.”
Drotts was employed at John A. Davis Juvenile Hall in Martinez, where she was assigned the 17-year-old victim as her client, according to investigators.
After the boy was released, he was raped by Drotts between April 1 and July 14, prosecutors charge.
Drotts was arrested by Concord Police on July 14, after cops received a tip from a supervisor at the probation department, prosecutors said. The boy’s family has filed a separate civil case against the county over the matter.
Drotts has since been released, according to the Contra Costa Sheriff’s office.
The allegations are particularly troubling because prosecutors say the teenager was previously assigned to Drotts as a patient. The alleged conduct, if proven in court, would represent a serious breach of the trust placed in professionals who work with young people.
The boy’s mother said the family came forward to protect other victims of abuse.
“We are speaking out to ensure that no other family has to endure this pain, and to encourage anyone else who may have been harmed to find the strength to come forward,” she said.
Attorney John Burris, who represents the boy’s family, said Drott began grooming the teen in 2024 when he was 14 or 15 years old.
At the time, the boy — identified as John Doe in court papers — was serving two years in a Contra Costa County Juvenile Hall, where Drotts was assigned as his therapist.
The legal process will now determine what happened and whether the allegations can be proven beyond a reasonable doubt.
Flip the pages for photos of Sofia Drotts.
