Community
Ventura County Crime Stoppers will pay up to $1,000 reward for information, which leads to the arrest and criminal complaint against the person(s) responsible for this crime. The caller may remain anonymous. The call is not recorded. Call Crime Stoppers at 800-222-TIPS (8477).
###
Conejo Valley School District Employee Arrested
| Nature of Incident: | Sending Harmful Matter to a Minor Arrest |
||||
| Report Number: | 22-159700 |
||||
| Location: | Westlake High School, Thousand Oaks, CA |
||||
| Date & Time: | 12/01/22 @ 09:00 a.m. |
||||
| Unit(s) Responsible: | Thousand Oaks Sexual Assault Unit Thousand Oaks Intelligence Led Policing (School Resource Officers) Directed Enforcement Unit / Thousand Oaks |
||||
| (S)uspects, (V)ictims, (P)arty, (D)ecedent |
City of Residence |
Age | |||
| (S) Ballas, Thomas (V) Juvenile Female |
Thousand Oaks, CA Thousand Oaks, CA |
33 Juvenile |
|||
| Narrative: | |||||
| On December 1, 2022, Westlake High School Administration reported to law enforcement of inappropriate messages sent to a student. Thousand Oaks Police School Resource Officers (SRO’s) contacted a female juvenile. During the investigation, it was learned that the inappropriate messages were more significant. Deputies learned the juvenile was being sent numerous illicit images, via social media, by an adult. Deputies identified Thomas Ballas, a Thousand Oaks resident, as the suspect in the investigation. On December 2, 2022, a search warrant was authored and approved for Ballas’ residence. Members from the Thousand Oaks Sexual Assault Unit, Thousand Oaks Intelligence Led Policing Unit, and Directed Enforcement Unit executed a search warrant at his residence. Ballas was ultimately contacted during the search warrant. During the investigation, detectives discovered additional information that corroborated what the victim previously stated. Additionally, Ballas was found to be in possession of a controlled substance. Ballas was ultimately arrested at his residence. Ballas was employed by Conejo Valley Unified School District (CVUSD). He worked as a Technical Specialist in the Theater Department for Westlake High School. Ballas was booked at the Ventura County Pre-Trial Detention Facility. Ballas was booked on the following charges: 288.2(a)(2) PC Sending Harmful Matter to a Minor and 11350(a) HS Possession of a Controlled Substance. This investigation is currently ongoing. The Ventura County Sheriff’s Office believes there could be additional victims. If you have any information regarding Thomas Ballas, this case, or other victims, please contact Detective Greg Webb of the Sheriff’s Thousand Oaks Sexual Assault Unit at 805-371-8309. The Ventura County Sheriff’s Office would like to remind parents to remain vigilant as to their children’s social media and internet activities to keep them safe from predators. There are resources that can assist them in keeping their children safe by teaching them about internet safety. The best tool we have to prevent internet crimes against children is education. |
|||||
| Prepared by: | Detective Greg Webb | ||||
| News Release Date: | December 5, 2022 | ||||
| Media Follow-Up Contact: | Detective Greg Webb 805-371-8309 [email protected] |
||||
| Approved by: Booking Photo Release: |
Captain Jenkins YES NO |
||||
Ventura County Crime Stoppers will pay up to $1,000 reward for information, which leads to the arrest and criminal complaint against the person(s) responsible for this crime. The caller may remain anonymous. The call is not recorded. Call Crime Stoppers at 800-222-TIPS (8477).
###
Address/Location
Ventura County Sheriff's Office
800 S Victoria Ave
Ventura, CA 93003
Contact
Emergency: 9-1-1
Non-emergencies: 805-654-9511