La Verne Teacher Held in Molestation

A fifth-grade teacher in La Verne was arrested Thursday for allegedly forcing a 13-year-old female student to have sex with him, police said.

Lambert (Bert) Clay Jr., 40, a teacher at La Verne Heights Elementary School, was arrested after being called out of class, La Verne Police Detective John Hackworth said.

“Our investigation has substantiated the girl’s charges,” he said.

Clay, a teacher at the school for at least six years, was being held in lieu of $250,000 bail on suspicion of child molestation, oral copulation with a minor under 14 years old and sexual battery, Hackworth said.