In this deeply moving episode of Known and Trusted, Anna Sonoda, LCSW sits down with a loving father whose daughter was groomed by the person families are told to rely on-a school resource officer. What follows is an honest, generous, and at times heartbreaking conversation about how trust can be used as a tool for access, and how grooming hides in plain sight inside systems parents assume are safe.
The father shares the slow, subtle ways the officer blurred boundaries, created special access, and inserted himself into his daughter’s life under the guise of support. Anna helps name the patterns and dynamics that many families feel but struggle to articulate-from the way authority can silence instincts to how communities often minimize early warning signs.
Together, they explore why “good families” get targeted, how offenders identify compliant systems rather than vulnerable children, and how grooming works incrementally to avoid looking “wrong enough” to trigger action. They also talk openly about the internal battle parents face: trusting their gut, pushing past social pressure, and advocating even when they’re made to feel dramatic or overprotective.
Most importantly, this conversation shows what it takes for a family to rebuild after betrayal and what kind of support actually helps. It offers every listener something practical and grounding-how to show up for kids, how to look up and notice access being built, and how to speak up even when it’s uncomfortable.
This episode is raw, brave, and deeply human. It’s a conversation that will stay with parents, educators, and any adult who wants to become “bad prey” and protect children with clarity and confidence.
