Sonoma Administrator Arrested On Suspicion Of Child Molestation

MARIN COUNTY, CA — A Petaluma man who is the superintendent of a Marin County school district was arrested Tuesday on suspicion of child molestation, the Marin County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release.

Robert Raines, 66, who holds the Shoreline Unified School District’s administrative top post, was arrested on suspicion of committing lewd acts with a child under the age of 14, according to the sheriff’s office.

Raines, who lives in Petaluma, had been on administrative leave since June 1, when the authorities received a report of the allegations, the Sheriff’s Office said.

The district serves students in west Marin and Sonoma counties.

A school resource officer was involved in the investigation, the Sheriff’s Office said.

The Sheriff’s Office said in the news release that no further information about this case would be made immediately available.

The Marin County Office of Education notified authorities and put Raines on administrative leave when the allegations surfaced, Superintendent of Schools Mary Jane Burke said in a statement.

"The health, safety and well-being of all of our students is our most important priority,” Burke said.

“It is the mandate of all schools to follow all relevant laws with regard to any allegations of child abuse. The district took swift and immediate action notifying the Marin County Sheriff's Office and placed Mr. Raines on leave."

The Marin Independent Journal reported Raines was being held on $50,000 bail, but his custody status was not listed on the county’s online public booking log as of Tuesday afternoon.

The county’s booking log immediately deletes inmate information when a person posts bail or is released for other reasons, a Sheriff’s official said.

Anyone with information about this case is asked to call Detective Patton at (415) 473-7265.