The Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office has announced the arrest of a youth counselor at A Kid’s Place of Tampa Bay for allegedly performing sexual acts with a minor who lived at the facility.

On September 11, HCSO’s Special Victims Section detectives initiated an investigation into possible misconduct by 28-year-old Katherine Sticklin. HCSO says a foster child at the group reported that Sticklin started a conversation with him via Snapchat.

She allegedly sent explicit images and discussed wanting to perform sexual acts with him. Authorities say the juvenile blocked Sticklin on social media, but she allegedly continued to pressure the victim into sexual activity.

It is alleged that Sticklin went into the shared men’s bathroom while the victim was alone and began to perform sexual acts on him. Detectives have charged Sticklin with Lewd or Lascivious Touching of a Minor 16 or 17 Years of Age by a Person 24 Years of Age or Older and three counts of Unlawful Sexual Activity with a Minor.

No other details are available at this time.

 

🚨𝐀𝐑𝐑𝐄𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐃🚨#teamHCSO has arrested a youth counselor at A Kid’s Place of Tampa Bay for performing sexual acts on a minor who resided there.

“The crimes committed by this woman are vile and cruel,” said Sheriff Chad Chronister. “She should be ashamed of taking advantage… pic.twitter.com/ptOb1KRYPX

— HCSO (@HCSOSheriff) September 13, 2024