LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – An investigation into a report of suspected child abuse by sheriff’s deputies Wednesday afternoon resulted in the arrest of a Lake County Code Enforcement officer.
Rod Ian Hilliard, 37, was booked into the Hill Road Correctional Facility for felony willful cruelty to a child, with bail set at $25,000, according to Capt. James Bauman of the Lake County Sheriff's Office.
Shortly after noon on Wednesday, April 27, deputies responded to Kelseyville High School when school staff reported a 17-year-old female student had been injured from an incident that occurred at her home the previous night, Bauman said.
When deputies arrived, they confirmed that the student had in fact sustained significant bruising on her leg and arm, according to Bauman's report.
Further investigation by deputies revealed that on Tuesday afternoon Hilliard, the alleged victim’s father, arrived at their Kelseyville home to find a male friend of the victim’s at the house. Bauman said the friend was told to leave and Hilliard returned to work.
Later that night after Hilliard had returned home from work, he allegedly broke the victim’s cell phone and other items before retrieving a belt from his room and striking the victim several times as punishment for having the boy at the house, Bauman said.
Hilliard was contacted Wednesday afternoon and asked to respond to the school. Bauman said that shortly after Hilliard arrived at the school he was arrested.
Bauman said Lake County Child Protective Services responded to the school to take custody of the alleged victim, and also retrieved the girl's 7-year-old brother from a day care facility.
Hilliard remained in custody at the jail Wednesday night, according to jail records.
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