2 Riverside teachers put on leave amid 3rd grade student sex scandal

Two teachers at a Riverside elementary school have been placed on leave amid allegations that a third-grade boy sexually assaulted another boy repeatedly since last year.

News of the action came as parents attended at meeting Thursday night at John Adams Elementary School seeking answers from district administrators.

“For something of that nature to happen in that classroom -- some super severe negligence,” parent Joseph Paredes told KTLA.

The alleged abuse took place five to seven times and began when the Adams Elementary School students were in second grade, said Jacquie Paul, spokeswoman for the Riverside Unified School District.

“One of the young boys apparently was coercing another young boy to perform sexual acts,” she told The Times.

Paul declined to provide additional details, citing the age of the two children and an ongoing investigation.

Officials at the school found out about the abuse Monday evening when students at an after-school program told a staff member that “they wanted to report something they knew,” Paul said.

The two students involved in the incidents were also in the after-school program and were interviewed by the principal that evening.

“The initial investigation indicates that the incidents occurred in a bathroom and a classroom,” Paul said at the meeting.

Riverside police have since launched an investigation, Lt. Val Graham said, as has Riverside County Child Protective Services.

Meanwhile, two teachers have been placed on paid administrative leave as school district officials conduct their own investigation.

Paul said at the meeting that the adminstrative leave was “normal protocol.”

jason.wells@latimes.com

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