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Councilmember alleges inappropriate touching by mayor; sheriff says criminal threshold not met
Summary
Councilmember Susanna Vasquez accused Mayor Carr of inappropriate touching at the dais; the Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Office told council it investigated and concluded the facts did not meet the elements required for criminal charges. Vasquez repeated detailed allegations during council comment and the council has directed counsel to update the code of conduct.
Councilmember Susanna Vasquez publicly accused Mayor Carr of repeatedly touching her at the dais and described the conduct in detail during council comment.
"You reached below my waist to wiggle for my cell phone...You smirked and you said, 'do you know what I did for a living?'" Vasquez said, telling the council she had raised the matter with the city manager and city attorney and had been told to preserve confidentiality while the matter was investigated.
Stanislaus County Sheriff's Office leadership addressed the council earlier in the meeting and said deputies had investigated reported assault allegations involving the mayor. "After a review of the facts gathered, it was determined that the required elements necessary to constitute a criminal offense were not met in this case," the sheriff's representative said. The office also said, for legal and privacy reasons, it would not release details about the reporting party or certain investigative materials.
Sheriff's staff described investigative steps including interviews with the reporting party, the mayor and other witnesses, and said the file was closed and not forwarded to the district attorney because statutory requirements for criminal charges were not satisfied. The sheriff's office added that investigations can be reopened if new information emerges.
Council minutes show the city held a closed session before the meeting; the council reported a concluded investigation and directed legal counsel to revise the city’s code of conduct to address identified deficiencies and to implement measures intended to prevent similar incidents in the future.
Vasquez said she did not make the statements lightly and emphasized the personal and public interest dimensions of the allegation. Other council members cautioned about maintaining the integrity of the investigatory process and noted confidentiality obligations. No criminal charges were announced at the meeting.
The council did not take further formal action on criminal adjudication; the reportable action recorded on reconvening from closed session was direction to legal counsel to draft code-of-conduct revisions. The council's next procedural steps on that code revision were not specified during the meeting.
