SANTA CLARITA VALLEY : Probation Officer Given Suspension

A Los Angeles County probation officer who was arrested on suspicion of child molestation has been suspended without pay from his job at a Santa Clarita Valley youth camp, officials said Thursday.

Glenn Alan Nelson, 44, of Canyon Country was suspended for 30 days after he failed to attend a Wednesday hearing with county personnel officials, said Ann Burnett of the county Probation Department’s personnel office. An administrative hearing is required before any county employee can be suspended, she said.

Nelson, a probation officer at Camp Scudder in Saugus, was arrested June 4 on suspicion of child exploitation and molestation. He later posted bail and was released. The case involves no youths from Camp Scudder, Burnett said.

Nelson has worked with the department for almost 15 years and had been at Camp Scudder for about two years, Burnett said. He supervised boys ranging from age 16 to 18 at the camp.

Charges have not been filed against Nelson, Burnett said, and he is still considered innocent until proven guilty. If charged, Nelson’s suspension would be extended until the criminal charges are resolved. If found guilty, he would be fired, Burnett said.

But even if Nelson is never charged or is charged and found not guilty, he still could lose his job if the Probation Department determines that he was guilty of some form of misconduct, Burnett said.

“The Probation Department will work with the Sheriff’s Department on this investigation,” she said.