SONOMA COUNTY, Calif. — John Conant, 66, an elementary school counselor from Sebastopol, was arrested Monday on charges of committing lewd or lascivious acts with a child under the age of 14, according to the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office.
The arrest followed a report of child molestation at Cinnabar Elementary School in Petaluma. Deputies responded to the report and quickly involved detectives from the Domestic Violence/Sexual Assault Unit to continue the investigation.
After interviewing the victim, authorities obtained an arrest warrant for Conant. He was taken into custody without incident in the early morning hours on Monday and booked into the Sonoma County Main Adult Detention Facility. His bail was set at $250,000.
Given Conant’s role at the school, officials believe there may be additional victims who have not yet come forward. In light of this, the sheriff’s office released his booking photo to encourage any other potential victims to come forward.
No further details about the case have been released by authorities at this time.
