Former school aide pleads no contest to molesting girls on playground

REDWOOD CITY » A former after-school care worker pleaded no contest Wednesday to two counts of felony child molestation and, as part of a plea agreement, will be sentenced to three years in state prison, according to the San Mateo County District Attorney’s Office.

Prosecutors say Hoang Tran, 19, of Emerald Hills in unincorporated Redwood City touched the private areas over the clothing of three 6-year-old girls on the playground at Brittan Acres Elementary School in San Carlos, where he worked as an aide at the after-school care program. Tran also touched a girl while working at a summer camp in 2017, prosecutors said.

Tran, who is scheduled to be sentenced Aug. 24, will also have to register as sex offender.

“Parents count on schools to be a safe haven for their children,” San Mateo County District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe said.

Wagstaffe added that the violation of trust committed by Tran was “an egregious violation of our law.”

Tran became the subject of an investigation in September, 2017 after a 6-yearold girl told authorities that she had been inappropriately touched by him on the playground at Brittan Acres Elementary School.

A 7-year-old girl also came forward to report she had been a victim. Tran was working on the playground on Aug. 28 when he reportedly touched the genitals of the girls over their clothing, according to the San Mateo County District Attorney’s Office.

The sheriff’s office said a third victim — another 6-year-old girl — was identified following Tran’s initial arrest and release.