A San Francisco prosecutor who handles child abuse and sexual assault cases in District Attorney Brooke Jenkins’ office has a criminal history of endangering his own children, The Standard has learned.

Richard Hullinger — one of the city’s six attorneys who prosecute child abuse and sexual assault cases — was arrested in 2018 in Sonoma County and charged with two counts of felony child abuse. The charges were later downgraded to one misdemeanor count of willful cruelty to a child. At sentencing, Hullinger pled no-contest and entered a diversion program — the charge was ultimately dismissed in 2019 after he completed the terms of his plea deal. 

The case was then sealed, according to the Sonoma County Superior Court. The court would not disclose when the sealing occurred, who requested it, or on what grounds.

In addition to the criminal charges, the State Bar of California — responsible for licensing and disciplining attorneys — opened a case against Hullinger in 2022. As the case headed toward trial, the state bar recommended a one-year probation with a one-year stayed suspension of his license. That case was settled in 2023, and Hullinger received a public reproval and one-year probationary period, and was ordered to pay $6,479 in disciplinary costs. 

Hullinger did not respond to a request for comment. 

Hullinger was hired in October 2021 by the San Francisco DA’s office, then led by Chesa Boudin. Boudin declined to comment, citing a lack of knowledge of the case.

Hullinger has worked on more than 40 cases related to child abuse in recent years, according to Superior Court records.

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Jenkins’ office described Hullinger as “an exemplary prosecutor” who started in the domestic violence unit before moving to the child abuse and sexual assault unit, “where he has tirelessly and effectively fought for justice on behalf of victims of unspeakable crimes.”

The DA’s office said Hullinger accepted responsibility for the 2018 incident and satisfied all legal and professional requirements, adding that he was publicly recognized for his work on behalf of survivors of sexual assault at this year’s Sexual Assault Awareness Month event at San Francisco Police Department headquarters. 

“It is disappointing that attention is being focused on an incident from nearly a decade ago rather than on the years of public service that have followed,” the DA’s office said in a statement. “We believe that record deserves at least as much attention as a fully resolved misdemeanor offense that predates his work in this office.”

According to court records from the state bar, Hullinger’s wife was out of the country in May 2018, and he was solely responsible for his son, who was 7 at the time, and daughter, who was 2. Driving on Highway 101 in Sonoma County, Hullinger sped, swerved, changed lanes repeatedly without signaling, and tailgated three vehicles within half a car length — one of them a marked sheriff’s patrol car. Hullinger was pulled over, and the deputy found him holding an open container of the alcoholic beverage Four Loko. His children were in the back seat.

According to the state bar filing, Hullinger spoke belligerently to the officers, would not comply with orders, and tried to leverage his status as a criminal defense attorney to avoid responsibility. He called one officer a “piece of shit” and told his crying 7-year-old that “daddy’s going to jail because of these dickheads,” and “they’ll take you and you’ll go to a foster family and they’ll raise you,” which made the boy “scream in terror.” No family members could be reached, so Child Protective Services took custody of both children.

Hullinger refused to do a field sobriety test, telling the officers, “I’m a criminal defense attorney, there’s no way I’m doing your stupid FSTs.” He physically resisted arrest until deputies forced him out of the car. Hullinger’s blood alcohol level tested at 0.27% and 0.28%, more than three times the legal limit. 

He was arrested and charged with two felony counts of child abuse and two misdemeanor counts of DUI with high blood alcohol enhancements. He accepted a plea deal and the charges were downgraded to one misdemeanor count of child cruelty and one misdemeanor DUI. He was sentenced to 20 days in jail, three years of probation, a 52-week parenting class, 50 hours of volunteer work, a first-offender DUI program, and $2,242 in fines. 

The court offered “deferred entry of judgment” for the child cruelty charge — a diversion program that allows defendants to clear their records if they successfully complete court-ordered requirements. In 2019, Hullinger’s child cruelty charge was dismissed. Only the DUI remains on his record. 

After working as a criminal defense lawyer, Hullinger was hired by the San Francisco district attorney’s office in October 2021.

In June 2022 — the same month Boudin was recalled and Jenkins was appointed as DA by Mayor London Breed — the state bar opened a disciplinary case against Hullinger. 

The pretrial statement outlined Hullinger’s conduct toward officers and his children during the 2018 arrest and argued that while the conduct did not rise to “moral turpitude” — the legal standard that can be grounds for disbarment — it did constitute serious misconduct warranting professional discipline. 

The case was settled in February 2023. While the state bar’s attorney recommended a one-year probation with a one-year stayed suspension, Hullinger agreed to sign a stipulation formally admitting his misconduct and walked away with a public reproval, a probationary period, and an order to attend ethics and trust courses. 

By then, Hullinger had worked at the DA’s office for more than a year. The state bar records state that his “rehabilitation” was in part demonstrated by the fact that he worked “for 16 months as a Deputy District Attorney … without issue,” proving that his prior misconduct “was aberrational.”

The state bar rarely disciplines attorneys. A 2022 report (opens in new tab) by the California State Auditor found that more than 64% of complaints are closed at the initial intake stage, and around 5% of cases result in any type of discipline.