Entire Los Angeles Elementary School Staff Suspended Following Suspected Classroom Bondage Incident

Whittel & Melton, LLC 866-608-5529 – Florida Sex Crimes Attorneys

The entire staff at a Los Angeles elementary school where two teachers were arrested for alleged lewd conduct involving students will be removed while the school district performs an investigation.

The Los Angeles school superintendent told parents and media Monday night that 88 teachers and 40 support staff will be removed because a full investigation is disruptive and the staff may require support to get through the alleged scandal.

An entire staff has apparently been trained to take over teaching for the time being.

The replacements follow the arrest of two teachers: one charged with committing lewd acts on 23 children and the other arrested Friday on suspicion of fondling two girls in his classroom.

Employees of the elementary school will apparently still be paid during the investigation. Current staff and employees will report to another location to be interviewed.

One teacher, who worked at the school for 32 years, is accused of committing lewd acts on 23 children ages 6 to 10 between 2005 and 2010. According to authorities, the 61-year-old teacher apparently blindfolded students and fed them his own semen in his classroom in what students were told was a tasting game.

The man remains in jail on $23 million bond and could face life in prison if convicted.

The other teacher, 49, is suspected of fondling two female students in his second grade classroom. He was jailed on $2 million bail.

The school board has alleged plans to discuss firing him in a closed-door meeting Tuesday.

Investigators claim they are unaware of any connection between the two cases. According to the Los Angeles Times, the two teachers took their classes on at least two joint field trips in the past decade.

The district set up a toll-free hotline on Monday to receive any reports of suspected abuse.

In the same school district, a 37-year-old janitor was taken into custody after a mother told police on Sunday that the man inappropriately touched her child during school hours on Friday.

The man was booked and released on $100,000 bail Monday.

According to police, no immediate connection between the cases has been made.

Lewd and lascivious offenses can be charged when any sexually charged conduct occurs in the presence of someone under the age of 16. Offenses can include lewd and lascivious conduct, exhibition, battery and molestation around a minor. The consequences associated with a lewd and lascivious offense all revolve around the age of the victim and the age of the accused, but the above cases are considered felonies in the state of Florida carrying sentences from probation to life in prison.

Any and all allegations involving lewd and lascivious conduct against a child are quite serious. These cases are rarely witnessed by a third party first-hand, so the State’s case often revolves around circumstantial evidence and the unpredictable accusations of a child. Children are easily influenced and are often considered unreliable as their allegations against an adult may be outright false or exaggerated due to guidance from a parent or law enforcement officer.

Due to extensive media coverage of sexually motivated crimes involving children, those accused of lewd and lascivious acts on children are regularly found guilty of the crime in the court of public opinion before the case reaches a court of law. Despite the public’s opinion, those accused of a sex crime have the right to a defense attorney and are presumed innocent until proven guilty. The Florida Sex Crimes Trial Attorneys at Whittel & Melton can combat lewd and lascivious charges and protect your legal rights and interests surrounding this serious charge. To genuinely refute any type of sex crime charge, it is absolutely vital to retain a Florida Sex Crime Lawyer as soon as possible.

If you are facing accusations or have been arrested for a lewd and lascivious offense against a minor anywhere in the state of Florida, contact the Florida Sex Crimes Trial Lawyers at Whittel & Melton online or reach us statewide and toll-free at 866-608-5529.