City worker faces new abuse claims

Six additional people have accused a Santa Monica city employee of sexual abuse following the man’s arrest on suspicion of molesting four boys while he was a volunteer with the city’s Police Activities League more than 20 years ago, the Los Angeles County Sheriff ’s Department said.

Eric Uller, 50, a technology analyst with Santa Monica’s information technology department, was arrested at his workplace last week and charged with three counts of lewd acts on a child, two counts of oral copulation of a minor and one count of continuous sexual abuse, the Sheriff ’s Department said.

Uller, who was placed on administrative leave, is accused of sexually abusing four boys while he was a volunteer in the 1990s with the Police Activities League, an after-school youth program in partnership with the Santa Monica Police Department. He was an instructor in a city youth tech program from 2012 to 2017, according to the Sheriff’s Department.

The city of Santa Monica said Thursday in a statement that included the new allegations that the investigation now spans from 1986 to 2010. It is conducting an independent investigation into allegations that the city failed to act on reports of abuse.

Officials said Santa Monica police began investigating Uller over the summer after receiving an anonymous tip about the abuse allegations. After police identified one accuser, they passed the information to the Sheriff ’s Department.

Representatives for the city and the law firm conducting the independent investigation did not respond to requests for comment Friday.

Uller is being held in lieu of $750,000 bail. His arraignment is scheduled for Nov. 5.