SANTA CLARITA / ANTELOPE VALLEY : Palmdale Teacher Charged With Molestations : Crime: David Allen Montana, 42, calls the allegations by seven girls and a secretary ‘not really a big deal.’

Prosecutors have filed 15 misdemeanor counts of child molestation and battery against a Palmdale teacher, alleging that he touched seven girls and a school secretary in inappropriate ways.

David Allen Montana, 42, a social studies teacher at Palmdale Learning Plaza, also was the subject of a petition signed by dozens of students who complained about his conduct, according to court records.

On the petition and in interviews with a sheriff’s deputy, female students complained that Montana made them uncomfortable by repeatedly massaging their shoulders, looking down their blouses and making comments such as “You have sexy legs” and “You look foxy today.”

Palmdale School District officials, who had received complaints from parents, placed Montana on paid administrative leave on May 11.

The district attorney’s office filed the 13 misdemeanor charges against Montana on July 22, according to court records. Prosecutors and sheriff’s deputies declined to discuss the case.

Contacted at his home, Montana referred all questions to his attorney, saying only, “It’s not really a big deal, and they’re making a big deal over it.”

Montana’s attorney, Kenneth Schreiber, said the allegations are untrue. Schreiber said he had talked to investigators about the charges, but that he had not seen the complaint or the police reports. Montana remained free Thursday, but Schreiber said he was making arrangements for his client’s surrender to authorities.

“Very often the most caring and the most sensitive teachers and the ones most dedicated to their jobs are the ones whose conduct is misunderstood and who are judged in retrospect from a perverted viewpoint,” Schreiber said.

Schreiber added that although the charges include the word “molestation,” the term is misleading.

“If I rubbed your shoulder and made you uncomfortable and you happened to be 17 years of age, I could be charged with that offense,” Schreiber said.

Nancy Smith, Palmdale School District superintendent, said Montana has taught at the Palmdale Learning Plaza, a new school that uses non-traditional learning techniques, for four years. She said he has not previously been disciplined by the district.

Smith said she first heard reports of a problem in May, when a group of parents complained about the behavior of the seventh- and eighth-grade teacher. She would not elaborate on the parents’ complaints.

According to court records, the misdemeanor offenses took place between Sept. 1, 1993, and May 10, 1994.

On May 12, a parent reported to authorities that Montana allegedly had rubbed her 11-year-old daughter’s back and shoulders, leaning over to look down her blouse as he was doing so.

A sheriff’s child abuse investigator followed up on this report by visiting the school and interviewing other girls and a school secretary, who described similar conduct by Montana.

According to court records, an attorney for the school district also interviewed students about Montana’s behavior and shared the information with sheriff’s investigators.