EXCLUSIVE: San Mateo Co. sheriff says she's 'disgusted,' won't resign amid accusations

"It's a coup that has been in place for a while by the county executives and the Board of Supervisors," Corpus said.

ByDan Noyes

Tuesday, November 19, 2024

EXCLUSIVE: Embattled San Mateo Co, sheriff says she won't resign

In an exclusive interview with I-Team's Dan Noyes, San Mateo County Sheriff Christina Corpus made it clear she's not stepping down.

SAN MATEO, Calif. (KGO) -- San Mateo County Sheriff Christina Corpus is not going anywhere. That's the message from her exclusive interview with I-Team reporter Dan Noyes, just days after the Board of Supervisors voted, urging her to resign.

Dan Noyes: "Will you step down?"
Sheriff Christina Corpus: "I will not. I am resolved - I have worked very hard to get here. I know what I've done. I can hang my head up high."

An independent audit found that Corpus had an intimate relationship with her civilian chief of staff, and that she allowed him to run the department. But now, the sheriff is coming out in the strongest way possible to say, that's not true. Sheriff Corpus took office in January 2023 as the agent of change. But, she says resistance from what she calls "the old boys club" has been even tougher than she expected.

TIMELINE: San Mateo County Sheriff Christina Corpus investigation

"I have done nothing wrong," Christina Corpus told the I-Team. "This is an attack. It's a coup that has been in place for a while by the county executives and the Board of Supervisors."

The scathing audit contends that Sheriff Corpus is having an intimate personal affair with her civilian Chief of Staff, Victor Aenlle, and that she gave control of the sheriff's department to him.

"Garbage. I say it's false," answered Corpus. "I am not having an affair with him. I've known Victor for 17 years - 17 years. And we our colleagues, I consider him a trusted confidant, a friend. Is it because I'm a woman and I can't have a man next to me that I trust without having a sexual relationship with him?"

The audit cited phone call interviews with 40 current and past sworn and civilian employees. But they were all granted anonymity, they did not testify under oath, and their interviews were not recorded.

Sheriff Corpus: "Disgusted. Appalled."
Noyes: "Why?"
Sheriff Corpus: "Because."

And the most salacious accusations come from just one person - identified as "civilian employee #3" -- who works in records at the Millbrae sheriff's substation, where Corpus served as Millbrae Police Chief before she became sheriff. Corpus claims she heard a warning about "employee #3" one year ago. "A prominent San Mateo County female attorney went to one of my captains and said that if I didn't give this person a promotion, then I was going to regret it."

Corpus tells us "employee #3" did not get a promotion, and that she lied again and again to retired Santa Clara Judge LaDoris Cordell who conducted the audit. Dan Noyes read from the report to the sheriff.

Noyes: "She says that you told her in 2022, 'If Victor ever leaves me, I don't know how I'll make it. I won't survive.'"
Sheriff Corpus: "I've never said that, Dan, never said that."

Employee #3 went on and on, saying she saw Corpus and Aenlle kissing on a couch at the substation; that she frequently saw him rub her neck, shoulders and feet; that on a zoom, she caught Corpus and Aenlle at his ranch on the San Mateo County coast "feeding each other in an intimate fashion, touching and rubbing each other and playing 'footsie.'" That and more -- not true, says the sheriff.

Noyes: "Employee #3 was in the office and Aenlle said, quote, 'We're practicing a lot to have kids.' The civilian employee responded, 'Gross. I don't want to hear this. Don't ever say anything like that time again.' And she said that you kind of chuckled that she was annoyed with him saying that. Did that conversation happen?"
Sheriff Corpus: "I never - well first of all, I'm not having a relationship. And secondly, I can't have children. And thirdly, that is just ridiculous."

The audit also recounts a retired officer spotting Corpus at SFO boarding a flight to Hawaii with Victor Aenlle.

Sheriff Corpus: "My son has special needs. And so he was helping me to seat my son but Victor was not sitting with us. I was sitting with my children, and he was on the same plane. And Victor had a job he does at the time. He was doing executive protection."
Noyes: "Did you stay in the same place with Victor?"
Sheriff Corpus: "No, I stayed with my brother."
Noyes: "Did you see Victor when you were in Hawaii?"
Sheriff Corpus: "At the airport and we met for coffee one day, but that was it."

Corpus tells us she knew she would face headwinds trying to make change at the department, but she didn't expect such an onslaught from the Board of Supervisors. Supervisor Noelia Corzo left one message for Corpus on Friday that begins, "I'm willing to talk with you today. After today, I won't be willing anymore."

Corzo supported Corpus as sheriff, but she's become her strongest detractor, demanding that she step down in the voicemail.

Supervisor Noelia Corzo: "And it's past the point of no return. So, I really hope that you can do that and do the right thing before everything else starts you know, going into action and subpoenas are issued."
Sheriff Corpus: "I'm saying it was improper. And I took it - I took it as threatening."
Noyes: "At some point, would it be good to cut him loose and to have a fresh start for you as sheriff?
Sheriff Corpus: "You know, he is a trusted team member. I would be the first to cut somebody loose if I felt that they weren't doing their job. Or if they were doing something that was against policy or improper."

And we're headed for another independent audit. The sheriff has accused County Executive Mike Callagy of sexual harassment. He sent an email to me Monday saying, until that process is done, he won't be making any comments to the media.

San Mateo County Supervisor Noelia Corzo texted us: "Sheriff Corpus continues to lie to the press and community despite overwhelming objective evidence. Last week at a press conference, Sheriff Corpus falsely stated that I had not reached out to her and that she wished I would have. As someone who considered her a friend and mentored her through her candidacy, I decided to reach out to her one last time to hear what she had to say, verify that she was safe, and directly encourage her to resign in both her best interest and that of the County of San Mateo. Sheriff Corpus called me and we spoke twice before I left her a message. Based on the facts and on my conversations with her that day, the Sheriff cannot make sound decisions in the best interest of the public and I continue to have grave concerns about who she surrounds herself with. This is yet another attempt at denying, deflecting, and distracting our community. The truth always speaks for itself. The Sheriff must step down."

Exclusive interview with San Mateo Co. Sheriff Christina Corpus | FULL