ANTELOPE VALLEY : Teacher Charged With Molestation
An Antelope Valley elementary school teacher has been charged with sexually molesting two runaway girls he said he picked up hitchhiking in early February, according to court records.
Conrad G. Deocariza, 39, of Lake Los Angeles--a teacher at Antelope Elementary School in Littlerock, which is in the Keppel Union School District--entered a not guilty plea Monday to three counts of child molestation, two felony and one misdemeanor.
The girls, ages 12 and 14, had run away from an Antelope Valley foster home. They told authorities that Deocariza paid for them to stay in local motels for two nights and fondled them and sought sex from the older girl. Deocariza told authorities he did not fondle them and wanted the girls to turn themselves in, but he conceded he paid their motel bills and bought them two boxes of condoms.
According to court records, Deocariza was arrested Thursday and charged on Friday. The records show he posted a $15,000 bond on Tuesday to be released. A preliminary hearing was scheduled March 10 in Antelope Municipal Court in Lancaster. School officials could not be reached for comment.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
