By City News Service
A Burbank man who taught at a middle school in Sherman Oaks pleaded not guilty Thursday to charges involving alleged sexual misconduct with two students.
The 46-year-old man was arrested Tuesday by Los Angeles Police Department detectives after they received “multiple reports from students of alleged ongoing inappropriate sexual contact … while he was employed at Louis Armstrong Middle School,” the LAPD said in a statement Thursday.
The man, who remains in custody, is charged with one felony count of lewd act on a child and one misdemeanor count of child molesting, according to the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office.
The man — an 8th-grade teacher — allegedly began having inappropriate communication in April with a student that led to grooming, according to investigators. The grooming led to inappropriate and unlawful touching, according to the District Attorney’s Office.
The other charge involves a separate child, with the alleged crime occurring during lunch time on school property in April, according to the District Attorney’s Office.
The man was employed at the school from 2022-23, the LAPD said.
Los Angeles police are investigating the case. Any other potential alleged victims asked to call law enforcement at (818) 374-5415, the District Attorney’s Office said.
In a statement announcing the charges, District Attorney George Gascón said, “Children deserve to feel safe and secure in their environment, and it is the responsibility of adults to protect them from any form of abuse or exploitation. These types of crimes against vulnerable students are sickening and a violation of trust.”
The man is scheduled to appear in a Van Nuys courtroom on June 21.
First published in the June 3 print issue of the Burbank Leader.
