Fresno County sheriff's captain under investigation for asking students about sexual behavior

FRESNO COUNTY, Calif. (KFSN) -- A Fresno County sheriff's captain is under investigation for comments he made during a recent school assembly at a private Christian campus.

Captain Joe Smith spoke to an auditorium full of students at Immanuel Schools in Reedley earlier this month.

A video of the speech first shows Smith talking about his background and faith.

He later asked the boys to raise their hands if they had engaged in certain activities of a sexual nature in the last week.

He went on to ask the girls how many of them have looked in the mirror and thought they're not thin or pretty enough and also referenced their chests not being large enough.

Smith explained studies show certain percentages of junior high and high school students have done those things, but that God puts people in the students' lives who they can turn to if they're tempted to sin.

Action News has confirmed Smith is still working and is not on leave.

The sheriff's office says it is treating the incident as a personnel matter and conducting further investigation.

Multiple sources tell us Smith was on duty at the time of his speech.

Immanuel Schools sent a letter to parents, but officials say this is not something they wish to speak about publicly.

We spoke with Smith over the phone and he referred us to a statement he provided the Fresno Bee.

The statement acknowledged the questions he asked the boys and girls and said in part, quote, "in retrospect, I could have vetted these two questions with school staff first. I sincerely apologize if i offended any student and/or their families."

You can read a full quote from the Fresno County Sheriff's Office, below:

"In mid-February, the Fresno County Sheriff's Office was made aware of some comments Captain Joe Smith made during an assembly on the campus of Immanuel Schools in Reedley. It was discovered a staff member at Immanuel personally invited Captain Smith to be a guest speaker. Sheriff John Zanoni has since spoken with Immanuel's superintendent to gain a better understanding of the situation and learn what concerns there might be related to Captain Smith's message to students in the audience. The Fresno County Sheriff's Office takes any and all matters of potential misconduct seriously when brought to our attention. The Sheriff's Office is now treating this as a personnel matter and will be conducting further investigation into this incident."