By Bay City News
San Mateo County Chief Probation Officer Stuart Forrest announced his retirement on Monday after being placed on administrative leave earlier this month while under investigation by the U.S. Postal Inspector Service.
Forrest had been placed on paid administrative leave on Dec. 21 and his retirement was effective on Monday, Dec. 31, according to San Mateo County Superior Court officials.
County spokesman Marshall Wilson confirmed Forrest is under federal investigation but neither he nor U.S. Postal Inspector Service officials were immediately releasing details of the probe. However, many other news outlets reported Forrest was under suspicion for receiving child pornography.
Forrest had worked for the county's probation department since 1977 and was appointed chief in 2009. His salary for this year was $140,004.
Superior Court officials have named Roy Brasil, a 12-year veteran of the probation department, as acting chief.
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Also, what Ayres and Forrest have in common is Judge Marta Diaz. Diaz, according to the San Mateo DA's office tried to interfere with the police investigation into Ayres and warned them to be "real careful, because Bill Ayres and I are friends." And Forrest has gone on record saying that he would not have gotten the Chief Probation job had it not been for "his good friend Marta Diaz." It is unusual that the chief court evaluator for juvenile boys in any county would be arrested for child molestation. It's even more unusual that a chief probation officer who worked for the same juvenile hall in the SAME COUNTY is being investigated for child pornography. What kind of show is San Mateo County running over at Hillcrest and probation? And is Forrest being investigated for purchasing Azov films? In 2012, the United States Postal Inspection Service has charged a number of people with possession of these films, which depict underaged naked boys. One of the people charged with buying Azov films this year was Dr. Richard Keller, who worked at Boston Children's Hospital, just as Dr. Ayres once did.
"Forrest began working for the San Mateo County's Probation Department in November 1977 and was named its chief in April 2009. His first title was that of a group supervisor at the county's juvenile hall. That post's job description includes the following duties: "supervise, counsel and orient juvenile detainees," as well as "conduct individual guidance and counseling sessions." So Forrest, in 1977 at Hillcrest, was counseling juveniles. That was during Dr. Ayres' heyday at Hillcrest, where he was also "counseling" - *cough* - juveniles. The probation officers at Hillcrest had access to Polaroid cameras for the purpose of taking photos of the juveniles for official purposes. However, there are cases around the country where doctors and probation officers have bribed juveniles with money or drugs in court- ordered sessions to get things they normally wouldn't do - like take off their clothes. Were the Polaroids at Hillcrest ever used for anything other than official purposes ?
-- Mercury News, January 1, 2012: Excerpt: At the time, he was appointed as probation chief, Judge Marta Diaz said in a county news release: "I've known Stu for a very long time. His modesty and leadership skills are only exceeded by his ability and integrity." -- Legal Daily Journal, April 2009: Excerpt: Not everyone is a fan. Diaz is among a number of county officials who have come under fire recently for referring juveniles to a child psychiatrist who was later charged with molesting three young male patients. Dr. William Ayres is set to stand trial later this year. Local government watchdog Michael G. Stogner, of Belmont, has insisted that county officials, including Diaz, continued sending patients to Ayres, despite knowing about the accusations. New York-based journalist and victims’ advocate, Victoria Balfour, has accused Diaz of protecting Ayres. Diaz shrugged off the attacks. "Stogner and Balfour have this little jihad against me," she said. "I don’t care. I know it’s all bullshit. All will come out." ___ FYI: Judge Marta Diaz received a private admonishment from the California Commission on Judicial Performance for her injudicious remarks, in the legal Daily Journal article. Why couldn't Diaz have just expressed some remorse or compassion for the hundreds of juveniles who were sent to Ayres, as former Judges Margaret Kemp and Patricia Bresee have done, instead of going on the attack?
Dr. Richard Keller at Boston Children's Hospital ( where San Mateo County's Dr. William Ayres, arrested for child molestation also worked ) i is one of a number of men who received the notorious "Azov films." Yesterday the feds raided Keller's house a second time. http://bostonherald.com/news_opinion/local_coverage/2013/01/feds_investigate_whether_andover_pediatrician_produced_child Excerpt from the Boston Herald: "Keller’s name surfaced on the mailing list of a video distribution company that was shipping child porn from New York. His home was searched in September, when authorities discovered dozens of videos and hundreds of pictures which they say depict child pornography. At the time Keller was a doctor at Children’s Hospital Boston and had recently left Phillips Academy in Andover after 19 years as the prep school’s medical director. Keller has surrendered his medical license." Did Stuart Forrest purchase any Azov films? Time will tell.