David Burke v. County of Alameda

I. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

B.F. is the fourteen-year old daughter of Melissa Burke and Clifton Farina. Melissa and Farina are divorced and David Burke is B.F.’s stepfather. Although Melissa and Farina shared joint legal custody of B.F., B.F. lived with the Burkes. Farina, however, called B.F. and saw her frequently.

On June 21, 2005, B.F. ran away from home with Ricardo Maciel, a nineteen-year old male. The Burkes immediately reported her as a runaway to the Alameda County Sheriff’s Office (“ACSO”). At some point during the ensuing investi- 1 For clarity, we refer to David and Melissa Burke by their first names. 2 Appellants also challenge the grant of summary judgment with respect to several other claims. We address those claims in a separate memoran- dum filed concurrently with this opinion. BURKE v. COUNTY OF ALAMEDA 15203 gation, the ACSO investigating officers heard “something about Mr. Burke having sexually molested his daughter.”

On July 3, 2005, approximately two weeks later, B.F. returned home of her own volition. The following week, Offi- cer Mark Foster called the Burkes to schedule an interview with B.F. to discuss the…