Vista

An Oceanside High School teacher charged with fondling a 15-year-old female student has been found innocent of misdemeanor child molesting by a Municipal Court jury.

Veteran instructor Fred Astorga was charged with fondling the breast of the teen-age student Nov. 29 during a class break at Oceanside High School. Astorga, 43, a wood shop and mathematics teacher, has been on unpaid administrative leave since Dec. 5.

The jury that acquitted Astorga on Tuesday was the second to hear the case. A mistrial was declared April 8 after the judge ruled that the prosecutor had asked an improper question of a witness. A district spokesman said Astorga will be reinstated and paid back wages.