Former Canyon Crest Academy teacher arrested in underage sex sting in Rancho Cucamonga

A man who taught at a San Diego high school earlier this year was behind bars Friday, Aug. 31, in San Bernardino County for allegedly sending nude photos of himself and trying to meet with an online contact he thought was a 14-year-old boy, authorities said.

Riverside County resident Javier Francisco Armijo, 44, was arrested Aug. 14 in Rancho Cucamonga after it turned out the teen he believed he was chatting with was actually an undercover police detective, San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Detective Donald Patton said.

Armijo “temporarily taught English and video/film for Canyon Crest Academy during the 2017-2018 school year,” the San Dieguito Union High School District said in a statement.

San Bernardino law enforcement authorities also identified Armijo as a “school teacher by trade (who) is not currently employed at any school” but who had previously taught “at various schools in the Temecula Valley area.”

San Dieguito Union High School District officials said they “did not receive any complaints about this employee during his brief time” teaching on the Carmel Valley high school campus.

The California Commission on Teacher Credentialing suspended Armijo’s credential Aug. 21, citing unspecified misconduct, according to online records.

Armijo was one of nine men arrested during the nine-day decoy operation, Patton said. He and all but one of the other men are accused of sending nude photos of themselves to the decoy account.

All nine men agreed to meet the fake teen in Rancho Cucamonga for sexual acts, but were instead arrested by undercover detectives.

Armijo was being held Friday, Aug. 31, in a San Bernardino County jail in lieu of $275,000 bail.

The San Dieguito Union High School District said that although it didn’t receive any complaints about Armijo, it was encouraging anyone “to share any relevant information with law enforcement.”

“The safety of our young people is our highest priority,” district officials said.

Those with information about Armijo were asked to call the San Diego Police Department’s northwest division at (858) 523-7000 or the Rancho Cucamonga Police Department’s detective bureau at (909) 477-2800 ext. 2850.

--Alex Riggins is a reporter for The San Diego Union-Tribune