San Mateo County driving school owner arrested on suspicion of providing pornography to student

Police said the 38-year-old suspect also traveled to meet a minor for lewd purposes.

REDWOOD CITY – The owner of a San Mateo County driving school has been arrested on suspicion of providing pornography to a minor and traveling to meet a minor for lewd purposes, police said.

In mid-December, the Department of Motor Vehicles contacted the Redwood City Police Department about an independent contractor driving instructor they believed had engaged in criminal activity with a female student, police said in a news release Friday.

Redwood City police detectives opened a joint investigation with investigators from the DMV, San Jose Police Department, San Mateo County District Attorney’s Office and the Hillsborough Police Department.

Police said the investigation “established credible criminal activity associated with the suspect using an undercover female police office and social media investigative tactics.”

The suspect, who is 38 years old, owns and operates the California Driving Academy, which provides driving instruction in the San Mateo County area, police said.

Police said the investigation is ongoing, but enough evidence has been collected to arrest the suspect. He was booked into San Mateo County jail on charges of sending harmful material to a minor and traveling to meet a minor for lewd purposes.

Anyone with information related to the case or others involving the suspect can contact Detective Sgt. Nick Perna at 650-780-7672 or the tip line at 650-780-7110.