Probation Officer Is Fired After Sex-Charge Probe

A San Diego County probation officer was fired Friday after a police investigation revealed that as many as five teen-age girls who were in custody at Juvenile Hall had accused him of sexual battery.

Robert Denny, 48, was fired after a two-month investigation by the San Diego Police Department child-abuse unit. Chief Probation Officer Cecil Steppe said Denny was a three-year employee of the department and a retired Navy man. Prosecutors said they are studying the police findings and will announce next week if Denny will be prosecuted.

Steppe said the allegations against Denny surfaced Feb. 15, when a 16-year-old girl complained to another probation officer that Denny had fondled her breasts on two occasions. Probation Department spokesman Mike Specht said officials began a brief in-house investigation and transferred Denny to an all-male juvenile facility.

‘Administrative Action’

The Probation Department’s inquiry suggested that other young girls may have been molested by Denny, Specht said, and the case was turned over to San Diego police. Specht stressed that Denny has not been charged with wrongdoing, but was fired as a result of an “administrative action.”

“Today’s termination is the result of our internal investigation,” Specht said. “But, due to civil service regulations and the protections of the Peace Officer’s Bill of Rights . . . we can’t be more specific about the allegations.”

Steppe, who heads the Probation Department, said the allegations against Denny came as a surprise.

“From everything that I knew and saw, he was a hard worker and valued employee,” Steppe said. “ . . . But, after reviewing the information available to me, it was important to go ahead and . . . remove the individual from his assignment to avoid any additional problems.”

According to Specht, male probation officers are instructed never to be alone with female juveniles.

“If anyone would attempt to engage in that type of behavior (that Denny is charged with), he would be taking a very large risk and would have to be willing to take it,” said Specht.

He added that allegations of sexual abuse against male probation officers surface several times a year but are usually found to be fabricated.