Judge sentences Vallejo children’s charity founder for offering marijuana to teen sex offenders

SAN FRANCISCO — The founder of a children’s charity in Vallejo was sentenced to seven years in federal prison in a case in which prosecutors said he had suggestive conversations with a real girl and an undercover cop dressed as a girl.

Bryan Rosenthal, 51, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Richard Seeborg. Rosenthal pleaded guilty to federal child pornography charges, but prosecutors said he arranged to meet an undercover police officer posing as a teenager in San Francisco and planned to offer marijuana to the “girl” so he could sexually assault her.

Rosenthal also had suggestive conversations with a Vacaville teenager and expressed interest in young girls in his messages. The man also sent pictures of his erect penis to both the girl and the undercover officer, authorities said.

When the undercover officer posing as a teenager named “Jess” bluntly asked Rosenthal if it was okay for her to be 14, Rosenthal responded, “I wouldn’t be any younger, but yeah, it’s a move, to be honest.” Screenshots of messages sent by prosecutors.

Rosenthal allegedly told the Vacaville teenager, “You seem incredibly mature for your age, or maybe I’m just immature, hahaha,” and told him he could trust him. Prosecutors said the girl sent Rosenthal nude photos of herself.

Rosenthal’s lawyers argued for a five-year prison sentence, arguing that he took full responsibility and that he suffered abuse throughout his own childhood, including at a “cult-like” boarding school. Prosecutors asked for a nine-year prison sentence for Seeborg.

Rosenthal was involved in two charities in Vallejo when he was indicted in 2018; Voices of Vallejo, who fired him after his arrest, and a group called Cann-I-Dream, which Rosenthal founded. In a bitter irony, given allegations of offering marijuana for sexual exploitation, the Cann-I-Dream charity solicited money from local marijuana dispensaries to help children in need.