Worker Sentenced for Sex With Minor

A groundskeeper at Santa Paula High School who had an affair with a 16-year-old student was sentenced Wednesday to 90 days in jail for unlawfully having sex with a minor.

Richard A. Chagolla, 31, also was placed on three years probation and was ordered not to have any contact with girls under the age of 18.

Chagolla, who lost his job at Santa Paula High and has since moved to Riverside, pleaded guilty to two misdemeanor counts of unlawful sex with a minor. According to court documents, his sexual affair with the teen-ager began in December and ended in March when she told a school aide that she was angry to learn that Chagolla was still married.

The girl is quoted in court documents as saying she initially told Chagolla she was 17 years old but later admitted she was only 16. Chagolla told the probation officer the girl said she was 18 when they started dating.

In sentencing Chagolla, Superior Court Judge Charles W. Campbell said it was difficult to know for certain how the relationship started, “but in the long run it doesn’t really matter.”

Because of Chagolla’s position at the school, he knew it was improper to initiate a sexual relationship with any student, regardless of her age, the judge said.

The girl, who addressed the court at the sentencing hearing, said she is seeing a psychologist to help her cope with the trauma of the relationship and its aftermath. Although she earlier told the probation officer she did not want Chagolla to go to jail because she was equally at fault, in court the girl said she wanted the defendant punished.

“He’s going to go on with his life without too much worry, and what about me?” she said.

Deputy Public Defender Todd W. Howeth said Chagolla wants to reconcile with his wife and two children, who have moved to Montana.