Crime & Safety

Santa Cruz Surf School Instructor Charged with Molesting Teens

Police say Dylan Greiner took advantage of girls while teaching at the Boys and Girls Club of Santa Cruz.

By Brad Kava

Santa Cruz Police expanded the charges of lewd acts with a minor against surf school instructor Dylan Greiner Thursday, after finding 500,000 images on his computer including some of girls he was teaching for the Boys and Girls Club.

Greiner, who was arrested Friday for sexual contact with two underage girls, is charged with 28 counts of child pornography and sexual exploitation of a minor. The case was started after a 17-year-old girl complained to authorities that she had been victimized by Greiner when she was 14, according to this story in the Sentinel. 

In court, the prosecutor said that Greiner had underage girls create pornography.

"Unfortunately, investigators have expanded the locations where Mr. Greiner was carrying out his crimes," the department said in a press release. "Detectives have discovered that Mr. Greiner also took inappropriate photos of young girls while teaching basic board techniques in conjunction with his surf lessons at the Boys and Girls Club in Santa Cruz."

The police department has set up a special email for inquiries from parents at investigations@cityofsantacruz.com 

"The magnitude of this case grows everyday," police wrote.

Greiner had been a vocal supporter of police and efforts to clean up the beaches and railroad tracks of the needles that junkies left behind. He made videos that exposed the trash and needles at Cowell Beach, which were widely distributed and he spent time cleaning the beaches and levees. 


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