‘Humiliated, terrified, and deeply unsafe’: Ex-East Bay firefighter sentenced to 5 years for child molestation

DUBLIN — A former San Mateo firefighter was sentenced to prison for sexually abusing and secretly filming kids inside his Livermore home, but not until after he heard from the girls and their family members.

Simon Meyer, 56, reported to prison on May 13 and is still being held at North Kern State Prison, records show. Just before his trial, Meyer pleaded no contest in March to four counts involving sexual offenses against minors, either by inappropriately touching them or filming them changing.

Despite his no contest plea, Meyer still received support from friends and family — including former fellow firefighters — who showed up to his sentencing hearing. The glowing descriptions they gave of Meyer included how he was always “there for kids” and a “gentleman” who is a “reliable friend and good family man.”

But his victims say they’re dealing with lifelong trauma that resulted from his betrayal, through sexual attacks or secretly filming them changing in his bathroom. One woman said she was terrified to reveal that Meyer had molested her as a child because of what it might do to her parents, who were close with him. She said she came forward only after two teen girls discovered a hidden camera in Meyer’s bathroom as they were changing into bathing suits and reported it to police, leading to the story being reported on in the media.

Those two girls were hailed as heroes at Meyer’s April 30 sentencing hearing. One woman, who says Meyer molested her on her 13th birthday, recounted how she felt responsible for “keeping his secret” and suffered in silence for years.

“I did well in school and was known to be the first to laugh at anything. I wanted to be smart and funny and accepted and liked like any other teenager. Inside, emotional wounds were festering and they manifested themselves as anger and depression,” said the woman, who this news organization is not naming. She later added, “It’s my hand extended to the other victims in this case, an apology for not speaking up until they helped me find the strength. I stand with them and I think of them often.”

One of those girls recounted how, when she discovered the hidden camera planted by her “predator,” she came to realize that “my basic human right to privacy and trust and dignity was stripped away.”

“The moment I realized what had happened, I felt humiliated, terrified, and deeply unsafe,” she said. “Since then I’ve struggled with anxiety, sleepless nights and overwhelming fear that I’m being watched, even in places where no one should ever have to feel vulnerable.”

Meyer’s supporters in court publicly spoke up for him, including Cullen Kreider, who recounted how they attended a firefighter academy together and worked together in Redding, before Meyer left to work at the San Mateo Consolidated Fire Department.

“I know him to be a hardworking, honest, and reliable friend and a good family man,” Kreider said. He later added, “Simon, you have lots of friends and family here supporting you and we believe in you.”

A fellow San Mateo firefighter, Kirk Steers, said he’s seen Meyer risk his life to save people. Another supporter, Diana Luna, said she’s known Meyer since middle school and fondly recounted how the now convicted child sexual abuser was always “there for kids.”

“Simon was my youngest son’s T-ball coach. Soccer coach. Mentor. Someone that my son looked — looks up to very highly in high regard,” Luna said. She later added, “I’ve always known Simon to just be a gentleman.”

Meyer pleaded no contest just before he was to go on trial. Prosecutors say they were ready to present evidence he victimized eight people, including kids aged 10-15 and two 18-year-old women.

Alleged incidents of molestation involved Meyer pulling off the girls’ clothing during a game of hide-and-seek around New Year’s Eve 2008, and inappropriately touching the two teens in separate, more recent incidents, according to court records. One girl alleged that Meyer attempted to record her in the bathroom when she was 13, and inappropriately touched her twice, once during a sleepover when she was 10 and another time at a pool party three years later, records show.

Meyer was a firefighter in San Mateo County until 2021; he no longer appears on public payrolls. It is unclear whether he was fired or resigned. In 2022, police in Redding listed him as a missing person and sought the public’s help in locating him, then rescinded the alert when he was found safe.

Meyer faced up to eight years in prison. His victims and prosecutors wanted the maximum sentence. The defense asked Judge Paul Delucchi to consider Meyer’s public service and how important he was to his family.

Delucchi credited the victims for speaking publicly and said he was trying to put himself in their parents’ shoes. He also said his own 21-year-old son is a firefighter and he “couldn’t be prouder” as a father.

“But when I think of those heroes and what they do and what esteem and high regard they’re held in, I look at Mr. Meyer and I think, ‘Wow, what a betrayal of that,'” Delucchi said. “To have that high position, to be held in such esteem by people, to be viewed as a hero and to do something like this and betray all that trust and ruin it all.”

Meyer gets credit for 81 days spent in jail toward his five-year sentence. He will be required to register as a sex offender for 20 years, and pay restitution, court records show.