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Editor’s Note: This article may be disturbing to some readers; discretion is advised. If you know or suspect a child is being abused, please call the San Mateo County Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-632-4615.
A former East Palo Alto city employee allegedly molested and supplied drugs repeatedly to a 13-year-old he met while working for the city, according to San Mateo County prosecutors in newly obtained court documents that include a character reference by a city council member for the defendant.
Redwood City resident Rafael Prado, 28, was charged with five felony counts of lewd acts with a child and felony possession of child sex-abuse material on June 18. In an unsuccessful motion advocating for Prado’s release from jail without a bond while he awaits trial, defense attorney Neil Hallinan stated Prado — who pleaded not guilty — had good reason to believe the victim was over 18.
Several people submitted character references in support of Prado’s release motion last summer, including East Palo Alto Council Member Carlos Romero. Romero said he was only attesting to Prado’s character, irrespective of the allegations, and was not speaking on behalf of the city in his reference letter.
“In our judicial system the accused is presumed innocent until proven guilty,” Romero told this news organization. “My character reference for Mr. Prado was based on observed behavior during my interactions with him at numerous COVID vaccination outreach efforts in East Palo Alto from 2021 to 2022.”
According to court records and sworn statements obtained by this news organization, the victim told authorities he was 13 years old when he first met Prado at the library sometime between late 2022 and 2023, and they later connected over Instagram. Prado was working for the city of East Palo Alto at the time.
According to prosecutors, the victim said his first sexual encounter occurred at Prado’s house in Redwood City. There, Prado allegedly supplied the teenager with marijuana, crystal meth and an unknown liquid. The victim, who was in eighth grade at the time, told authorities he went in and out of consciousness while Prado had intercourse with him.
Police would not become aware of Prado’s involvement with the boy until 2025.
The victim was 15 when he first contacted police in April 2025 after his father kicked him out of the house. The teen, who had been living with various relatives since his mother died, was surrendered to the care of Child Protective Services a few weeks later. In subsequent forensic interviews at the San Mateo County District Attorney’s Office Child Advocacy Center, he told police about his drug abuse and prostitution, according to prosecutors.
The victim told police he would walk around East Palo Alto and would be approached by men, mostly construction workers, asking for intercourse, according to police reports cited by the defense. The victim told investigators he used the money for drugs and that he needed to be intoxicated in order to perform sex acts, court records show.
Then, investigators started to focus on the victim’s first sexual encounter and what led him down the path of prostitution, court records show. Approximately an hour into an interview, the victim disclosed that one man, whom prosecutors allege is Prado, introduced him into sexual contact with adults.
The teenager told authorities that during their several month-long relationship, he “kinda loved” Prado but they stopped seeing each other as the victim became more focused on drugs, court records show.
How investigators identified Prado
At first, according to detectives, the victim described the man’s physical appearance and identified him as a city employee named Rafael. East Palo Alto police found that Prado was the only employee with the first name Rafael who matched the victim’s description.
Police reported that the victim identified Prado in a photo and recognized his house in Redwood City as the one Prado had taken him to, court records show.
The boy showed police messages he and the man he identified as Prado sent each other via Instagram, including ones from May 2024 that implied they were meeting up, according to court records. In one message, police say the victim sent “I wannt u in me tonight” and got the response, “I’m in epa.”
After reviewing those messages, police obtained several search warrants for what they allege are Prado’s social media and dating app accounts, electronic devices, car and home. Court records do not detail everything they recovered.
Court records show that detectives at the Redwood City Police Department said they found a video of Prado and the boy engaging in intercourse that “clearly shows the victim’s face.”
The teenager later identified excerpts of the video, saying he had agreed to being recorded and that it was filmed in Prado’s room. In a court motion, Hallinan denied that Prado’s video was of the victim but also said he had not received a copy of the video.
From city employee to suspect
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Prado worked as a supervisor at the Bay Area Community Health Advisory Council, where he distributed vaccines to East Palo Alto residents and supervised adult and youth volunteers. There, he worked closely with East Palo Alto Council Member Romero, who later recommended him for a job with the city.
Prado worked for East Palo Alto as a part-time employee in various administrative roles from July 2022 to April 2, 2025, according to City Manager Melvin Gaines. It was while in this role that Prado allegedly met the victim.
Gaines told this news organization that the city is “not aware” of any job duties that required Prado to be in “isolated contact with minors.”
In his written response to questions, Gaines did not address whether East Palo Alto was notified that Prado was under investigation or if the city had launched its own investigation into Prado.
This is not the first crime Prado has been prosecuted for a crime, according to court documents. In 2016, when Prado was 18, he was sentenced to 60 days in jail for embezzlement. Prosecutors said Prado has been on probation almost continuously since then, with two convictions for driving under the influence and repeated probation violations. Prosecutors also told the court Prado has a “noteworthy” juvenile criminal history but did not provide additional details.
On July 3, 2025, Judge Jeff Jackson denied the motion to release Prado while he awaits trial. A trial date has not yet been set for Prado, who remains in custody at the Maguire Correctional Facility. His next hearing is scheduled for March 4.
Romero’s character reference
Hallinan submitted several character references in support of Prado’s request to be released from jail. While many were from family members and friends, one was from Romero, a long-time member of the East Palo Alto Council who has been involved in city politics for four decades.
Court records show that Romero’s reference was on letterhead bearing East Palo Alto’s city seal. In it, Romero stated he’s known Prado for over four years and that they went door-to-door canvassing apartments with youth volunteers during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“(Prado) was always kind, generous, and caring of the youth assigned to him. Moreover, he took the time to help animate and instruct the youth to be more effective in their outreach efforts,” Romero wrote in the reference letter dated July 2, 2025. “I never witnessed any inappropriate behavior or comments by Rafael when he was in the presence of the youth volunteers. On the contrary, he was respectful with every youth and adult he came in contact with during our clinics and outreach engagements.”
Romero told this news organization his letter was only regarding his interactions with Prado and not about the charges he is facing.
“This is not supporting or a document that is saying he is or is not guilty of what he has done. This is specifically a character reference and to make it more than that, I think would be both a misunderstanding and also, I think, patently incorrect,” Romero said.
At the time he wrote the character reference, Romero said he only knew that the charges involved a minor. Romero said he did not look into the allegations when he wrote the letter because he was only asked to speak to his direct experience with Prado.
Note: This news organization redacted Romero’s personal phone number and email address from this letter.
“I did not know any of the specific facts related to the case,” Romero said. “This is a character reference based on my interactions with him, not on any hearsay, and not on investigations that I have no idea may or may not have been going on.”
When asked about the City of East Palo Alto seal on the letterhead, Romero stressed that his letter reflected only his personal views and not those of the city.
“It is not an official city letter, nor did I sign it as a city council member,” he said, noting that it said it came from the office of Council member Romero.
Motion to release Prado from jail
In an unsuccessful motion seeking Prado’s release on his own recognizance, defense attorney Hallinan denied the allegations of drug use and intoxication against his client and suggested that the victim could be remembering other incidents that did not involve Prado.
“We have no doubt that (the victim) has experienced everything he has described, but he is dishonestly accusing Mr. Prado — perhaps the only man whose name he could produce — of conduct actually committed by other men,” Hallinan wrote in his motion for Prado’s release.
According to court filings by Hallinan, Prado believed the victim was over 18 because he used Grindr (a dating app primarily for men seeking same-sex hookups), was available late at night, wore makeup and conducted himself like an adult.
In her written response, Deputy District Attorney Sharron Lee said Prado had “no credible argument” for claiming he believed the victim to be an adult. “The facts are that the defendant was quite aware of (the victim’s) age, and it did not stop him,” Lee added.
Besides alleging that he’d told Prado his age several times after having sex, the victim told prosecutors that Prado also saw him at his middle school before they had intercourse when Prado was delivering a package on behalf of the city, according to court records.
Prado is only facing charges for his conduct after being told of the victim’s age, according to Lee.
In a motion for release, Hallinan claimed the victim “is simply not a credible witness” and detailed the victim’s family history, sexual experiences and drug use.
In Lee’s opposition to the defense’s motion, she accused the defense of victim-shaming.
“Counsel spent approximately five pages of 20 substantive pages describing (the victim’s) drug use and sexual history but failed to acknowledge that the defendant’s actions were what initiated (the victim) into using sex to get drugs,” Lee wrote.
Hallinan said in an email, “I was very surprised that the DA wrote that those facts only serve to shame the victim when in fact they are totally relevant to the issue that was before the court. I don’t know if the DA really believes that or was making a statement to cut against my argument.”
“To that point, the minor’s appearance and history of drug use and prostitution are totally relevant, as it is the appearance and conduct of someone who is NOT a minor,” Hallinan added. “If someone appeared like this specific minor and conducted themselves the same way — including being out at all hours of the night on weeknights — generally speaking we all would be safe to assume that person is AT LEAST 18 years old.”
Hallinan said in an email that since the court assumes charges to be true at bail hearings, he wanted to convince the court that Prado was not a threat to the community.
“For purpose of that legal analysis, I did not deny that intercourse had occurred because the issue in those hearings is whether the defendant was too dangerous to release without bail,” Hallinan said in an email.
“Thus, our position was… the court should not find my client to be a threat to anybody because he was unaware of the minor’s age at the time,” Hallinan said.
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