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Ted
Nishihara, a 29 year-old Cerritos resident and a substitute teacher from the
Norwalk-La Mirada Unified School District has been arrested and charged with
one misdemeanor count of child molestation.
Los
Angeles County Sheriff's Special Victims Bureau detectives arrested the
substitute teacher on Monday at his Cerritos residence where he was immediately
taken into custody and held at the Cerritos Sheriff’s Station.
On
Wednesday he appeared before Downey Superior Court Judge John Ing for
arraignment in and he entered a plea of “not guilty.” A pre-trial conference is scheduled for March
28th in Division 5.
Sandi Gibbons, Public Information Officer for the Los Angeles County District Attorney said Nishihara could get up one year in jail and faces up to a $5,000 fine if he is found guilty of the charge.
Sandi Gibbons, Public Information Officer for the Los Angeles County District Attorney said Nishihara could get up one year in jail and faces up to a $5,000 fine if he is found guilty of the charge.
Sheriff’s
officials said that on Thursday, March 8, the mother of a female student
reported to Norwalk Sheriff’s Station deputies that her daughter told her that
Nishihara had touched her “in a sexual manner during class.”
Detectives
responded to the school on Monday morning and interviewed several students as well
as staff members and others and then contacted Nishihara at his residence.
Dr. Ruth Perez,
Superintendent of Schools for Norwalk La Mirada USD told LCCN that Nishihara
has been a substitute teacher with the district for the past five years, and
that he has never had a discipline problem of “any kind” in the past.
Perez said that
Nishihara has been blocked from returning as a substitute teacher. “We are taking this very seriously.”
Additionally,
Nishihara has been formally released as a substitute teacher with the ABC
Unified School District according to Deputy Superintendent Dr. Mary Sieu. “We sent him a letter notifying him that he
is no longer affiliated with our district,” she said.
Sieu said
detectives contacted her about Nishihara last week via telephone and that she
and school district officials were “cooperating” with the investigation. She would not go into specifics.
Perez told Los
Cerritos Community News that some female students between the ages of 12 and 13
reported to school officials that Nishihara was “looking at them uncomfortably”
and that a mother of one of the students began sharing “additional details”
about the minor’s interaction with Nishihara.
Perez said there
is no confirmation from school district officials if Nishihara had
“inappropriately touched any student.”
“The case is now in the hands of law enforcement and the investigation
is ongoing,” she said.
“Our teachers at
Los Coyotes are all fine, and all of them have been told about the situation,
and the students are all getting back to normal,” Perez said. On Tuesday morning, Perez said that she had
already conducted six television news interviews and a “stack of interview
requests” from other media outlets.
Los
Cerritos Community News has also learned that Nishihara lists the ABC Unified
School District as one of his additional employers, according to an on-line
professional website.
He also states that he “Substitute teaches for certified elementary through high school teachers,” and is also affiliated as a tutor with Personal Academic Tutor and SCORE! Educational Centers.
He also states that he “Substitute teaches for certified elementary through high school teachers,” and is also affiliated as a tutor with Personal Academic Tutor and SCORE! Educational Centers.
“Our main
responsibility as a school district is to make sure that we provide a safe
environment for all of our students,” Perez said. “It is difficult for any child to come
forward, and we need to keep encouraging our children to speak up and for
parents to listen,” Perez said.
A
few of Nishihara’s friends have posted on his Facebook Page just hours after
the media started reporting his arrest.
One of them posted “Free Ted!! I’m staying a union of
supporters!!!” Another post said “we’re
behind you Ted. Keep your head up and know that your friends have your back.”
Nishihara is a lifetime resident of Cerritos and attended local schools
and graduated from Cerritos High School in 2000. Detectives are looking for
additional victims and or witnesses by calling the Sheriff’s Special Victims
Bureau at (877) 710-LASD (710-5273).Visit Los Cerritos Community News at www.loscerritosnews.net.
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