A San Mateo Police officer who lives in Morgan Hill is accused of sexually explicit communications with a minor after he chatted with a social media user who posed as a 16-year-old girl, according to authorities.
The San Jose Police Department’s Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force June 6 arrested suspect Robert Davies, 40, on suspicion of contacting a minor to commit a felony, reads a press release from SJPD. The crime he is accused of is a felony.
On May 11, Silicon Valley Crime Stoppers received a tip from a concerned citizen who posed as a 16-year-old girl on several mobile social media applications, police said. The tipster chatted with an adult male about engaging in sexual activity, and later identified the adult as a police officer in the Bay Area.
On May 13, detectives began an investigation and learned the tipster had created a fictitious account on Tinder, a mobile dating app, as a 19-year-old female, but filtered the profile photo to appear as a young girl, police said. The tipster was aware that Tinder does not allow accounts for juveniles.
Detectives learned that after the tipster began chatting with Davies on Tinder May 11, they switched to Kik, another mobile messaging app. In a Kik conversation, the tipster told Davies she was 16 years old, which Davies acknowledged, according to police. Davies then asked the tipster to move the chat to Snapchat, yet another mobile social media app, where they continued to discuss the user being 16. They chatted about engaging in sexual activity.
During the follow-up investigation, detectives confirmed Davies’ identity and served search warrants on electronic devices and mobile applications, and on Davies’ residence, police said.
Detectives obtained a felony arrest warrant. The San Jose PD Covert Response Unit arrested Davies at his home in Morgan Hill, according to police. He was booked at Santa Clara County Jail on suspicion of contacting a minor to commit a felony.
According to Davies’ Linkedin profile, he has been an officer at the San Mateo Police Department since 2015. He has also worked for the Burlingame and Redwood City police departments. Davies served in the U.S. Marine Corps from 2003 to 2007.
San Mateo Police Chief Susan Manheimer said in a statement, “This alleged conduct, if true, is in no way a reflection of all that we stand for as a Department, and is an affront to the tenets of our department and our profession as a whole. As San Mateo police officers, we have sworn an oath to serve and protect our communities. I can assure you that we remain steadfast to this commitment to serving our community with “‘Professionalism, Integrity, and Excellence.'”
Anyone with information about this case or similar incidents can call San Jose Police Detective Michael O’Grady at (408) 537-1397.
