A Tarzana middle school teacher was arrested today and charged with multiple counts of child molestation and battery involving three middle school girls, the Los Angeles City Attorney’s Office reported.
(Flickr/PeterCastleton)
The girls — two 13-year-olds and a 14-year-old — were students at Gaspar Portola Middle School, 8720 Linnet St., at the time of the alleged abuse last June, according to the City Attorney’s Office.
Jason Leon, 32, was being held at the Van Nuys jail in lieu of $35,000 bail, according to sheriff’s jail records. His arraignment was not immediately set, but will be tomorrow at the earliest, according to city attorney’s spokesman Frank Mateljan.
Leon is charged with four counts of child molestation and three counts of battery.
If convicted, he could face up to 5 1/2 years in jail and $26,000 in fines, Mateljan said.
An investigation began on June 15, the last day of class, when one of the 13-year-old girls reported that her teacher had allegedly touched her inappropriately.
Three days later, the other 13-year-old came forward to allege she had been touched in appropriately on June 15, as well as several days earlier.
Allegations were also made by a third student who claimed to have been similarly abused by Leon on several occasions in 2010, when she was 14 years old, according to the City Attorney’s Office.
“Working with LAPD and the school district, this office will aggressively prosecute adults who prey upon our children,” city attorney Carmen Trutanich said.
“Our schools should be one of the safest of places in the community for our children, and I will do everything within my authority to ensure their safety.”
Loading ...
Nearly 10% of school children say they were sexually abused by school staff.
At least 6% of all adults sexually abuse children. More than 95% of them have no criminal record.
The Diana Screen® identifies an estimated 70% of the men and women who should not be placed into positions of trust with children because they present a sexual risk: either because they have already sexually abused a child or they have a very weak understanding of the strict sexual boundaries required between adults and children.
The Diana Screen® does not compete with criminal background checks. Rather, it is intended to complement an organization`s current Abuse Risk Management plan.
http://www.dianascreen.com