A Diablo Valley College faculty member and track coach has been charged with human trafficking, pimping and other offenses for allegedly making two female victims commit crimes of prostitution, the Contra Costa County District Attorney's Office announced Tuesday.
Kyle Lee Whitmore, a 39-year-old Crockett resident, was arrested last Thursday after one of the victims reported the case to authorities at DVC, a community college based in Pleasant Hill, prosecutors said.
Investigators identified a second victim and Whitmore was taken into custody. He was charged Monday and was set for arraignment Tuesday afternoon in Martinez.
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A spokesperson for the Contra Costa Community College District, which oversees DVC, said in a statement that some of the offenses involved a student at the school and that Whitmore — a tenured communications faculty member and former coach — was placed on administrative leave following his arrest.
"The District is grateful to staff who, through proper training, were able to identify a serious situation and quickly report it to our Police Services, who subsequently communicated with the Sheriff's Office and District Attorney," the community college district's statement said.
"The District is devastated by the seriousness of the allegations that have been raised thus far. The safety of our students and staff is our main priority. We take seriously any accusations of inappropriate behavior by our employees and honor the expectation that our students, staff, and visitors have to be safe when they visit our campuses," the statement said.
For student Cornell Davis, the charges do not match the man he’s come to know over the years.
“He’s really outgoing. If you need someone to talk to, go to him because he’ll give you some really incredible advice,” he said. “I’m still just low key speechless, it’s hit me really hard today.”
For other students, it’s a wake up call when it comes to campus safety.
“It makes you realize no matter how safe we may feel, there’s always stuff going on behind the scenes,” said student Hannah Souza.
Anyone with information about the case is asked to call the Contra Costa County Sheriff's Office investigation division at 925-313-2600. People wanting to report human trafficking cases in the county can call a District Attorney's Office hotline at 925-957-8658 or a national hotline at 211
