A Los Angeles probation officer has been arrested and charged with engaging in an illicit sexual relationship with a minor. The arrest, which took place on March 7, has ignited controversy and underscores potential vulnerabilities in the county’s juvenile detention system.

Rafaela Martinez, the officer who was charged, faces some serious allegations including having sexual relations with an inmate, arranging a meeting with a minor for lewd purposes, smuggling contraband into a jail, and unauthorized possession of a wireless communication device within a secured area.

The case arose after investigators discovered that the inmate had a contraband cellphone with sexually explicit text messages and photos, which were sent between the officer and the incarcerated minor.

A law enforcement source, who requested anonymity because they were not authorized to speak with the media, identified the officer as 51-year-old Rafaela Martinez. L.A. County Sheriff’s Department booking records show a person by that name was arrested for a felony on March 7. Martinez was assigned to detention services, according to a copy of the department’s roster.

The probation department declined to comment beyond its public statement.

Investigators became aware of the situation after they recovered a cellphone from a youth in custody at the Dorothy Kirby Center in Commerce on March 7, according to the probation department’s statement. The device contained intimate texts and photos between the youth and the officer, the department said.

“Information supported by a warrant led investigators to communications between the detained youth and Probation Officer,” the statement read. “Some of these communications appeared to have occurred while the employee was at work and there were photos that are sexual in nature.”

The woman was arrested a short time later, according to the probation department, and she was also accused of bringing a cellphone and a prescription medication bottle into a jail facility.

Supervisor Lindsey Horvath condemned Martinez’s actions, referring to them as “heinous and problematic on every level,” and emphasizing that “Arrest and swift investigation are the only appropriate responses.”

When Martinez was confronted about the phone she “gave statements that corroborated information which confirmed that the observed communications were with her,” according to a statement from the department. The authorities found a prescription pill container with different types of pills in the former officer’s personal bag.

L.A. County Supervisor Hilda Solis said that “it was disappointing that this staff was also found bringing pills into our facilities when many of our youth have suffered from overdoses and substance use dependencies.”

This is not an isolated incident. Several lawsuits have been filed against the county for sexual abuse.

The county already faces a slew of lawsuits from former detainees alleging sexual abuse as far back as 1972.

Earlier this year, a juvenile claimed a female officer he'd met in custody made romantic advances on him following his release in 2023, the LA Times reported.

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In a 2023 budget, Los Angeles County CEO Fesia Davenport estimated the county could pay out anywhere between $1.6 billion to $3 billion for more than 3,000 claims of childhood sexual assault.

Martinez’s case is the latest in a long line of issues plaguing the probation department. This lurid tale will only add to the scrutiny being directed at the agency.