A 41-year-old Santa Clara County Sheriff's deputy has been arrested and booked into the county's main jail after a woman flagged down San Jose police officers to report finding child sexual abuse material at his home. Deputy Roy Chen was taken into custody in Cupertino on Saturday, September 12, following a search warrant executed at his San Jose residence, according to investigators.
San Jose Police Department patrol officers were first alerted to the allegation around 10:13 a.m. that Saturday, when the woman approached them in person to report the discovery, according to the San Jose Police Department. Detectives with the department's Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force moved quickly, identifying Chen as the suspect, securing a search warrant for his San Jose home, and arresting him in Cupertino the same day. Chen was booked into the Santa Clara County Main Jail on suspicion of possessing child sexual abuse material, as reported by KRON4.
Cupertino does not maintain its own police force; the city contracts with the Santa Clara County Sheriff's Office for policing, which is the same agency that employed Chen as a deputy. That overlap has put two levels of law enforcement in motion at once — a criminal investigation run entirely by San Jose police, and a separate internal review launched by Chen's own department.
Sheriff's Office Responds With Leave and Internal Review
The Santa Clara County Sheriff's Office said it was aware that one of its deputies was arrested in connection with what it called extremely serious criminal allegations. The office placed Chen on administrative leave and opened an investigation, while stressing the need to respect the integrity of both the criminal and administrative processes before any formal employment action is taken.
The station's report notes the office said the public and officials alike should avoid drawing conclusions before the facts are fully established. That internal administrative investigation will proceed under department policy, separate from and alongside the criminal case San Jose police are pursuing.
Deputy's Prior Service Record
Chen's prior service record is not detailed in the supplied reports.
The San Jose Police Department's Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, which is now handling the criminal investigation into Chen, is part of the broader Silicon Valley Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force. The task force has been active in the community before: in January, it issued a public warning about emerging digital threats tied to online child exploitation.
What Chen Could Face Under State Law
Under California Penal Code § 311.11, possessing child sexual abuse material is a felony carrying imprisonment in state prison or county jail for up to one year, according to Wallin & Klarich.
Beyond the criminal exposure, Chen's career as a peace officer could also be at stake. The supplied material does not describe any authority to suspend or revoke his peace-officer certification or the consequences of decertification.
The Santa Clara County Sheriff's Office oversees county jail facilities, unincorporated patrol areas, and contract policing in cities including Cupertino and Saratoga, according to background compiled on Wikipedia. The department has also faced scrutiny over staffing and budget pressures in recent years.
It remains unclear how much material investigators recovered from Chen's home, whether additional charges or federal involvement could follow, or how the Sheriff's Office's internal administrative investigation will ultimately be resolved. The supplied material does not verify any other Santa Clara County cases involving public employees accused of child exploitation, including the linked Gilroy case.
