Teacher Held in Suspected Molestations

A Santa Ana schoolteacher was arrested Friday night on suspicion of molesting five girls, ages 10 to 12, in the classroom during the past two months, police said.

The girls, all students at Spurgeon Intermediate School on 5th Street, reported that the teacher fondled various parts of their bodies, authorities said.

Juan Carlos Contreras, 41, of Santa Ana was arrested at his home about 6 p.m. by juvenile investigators, said Sgt. Raul Luna of the Santa Ana Police Department. Contreras, who is married and has children, did not resist arrest, Luna said.

Contreras, a computer teacher who has worked in various capacities for the school district for a decade, was booked at the Santa Ana City Jail on multiple counts of child molestation, Luna said. Bail was set at $50,000.

The students went to their school principal with the allegations on Friday afternoon, said Santa Ana Unified School District Supt. Al Mijares. The principal immediately notified higher-ups, who conducted an on-the-spot investigation at the school, notified police and placed Contreras on administrative leave.

“Any time a member of the teaching profession is accused of inappropriate behavior, it is difficult, and we’re extremely grieved,” Mijares said. “I don’t know the veracity of the allegations, I don’t know what details police have uncovered in their investigation, so I can’t speculate, but I can just say any time a teacher, a support staff member or an administrator is accused of abusing children, it’s painful, because we are entrusted with their welfare.”

School board member Rosemarie Avila said of Contreras: “He’s innocent until proven guilty, but if it’s true, it is tragic.”

The arrest marks the second time in as many years that the school district has dealt with molestation allegations against one of its teachers.

In May 1998, Jerome Wilhoit, a popular second-grade teacher at Wally Davis Elementary School in Santa Ana, was arrested on five counts of molesting children. Wilhoit pleaded not guilty, and many colleagues and parents rushed to his defense, including the father of one of the alleged victims. But a Superior Court judge found that Wilhoit had been warned to curb his physical behavior toward students but nonetheless continued to caress students, so he was ordered to stand trial. That case is pending, school officials said.

Investigators acted swiftly after receiving reports from district officials Friday about the students’ allegations, police said. The case will be presented early next week to Orange County Deputy Dist. Atty. Scott Simmons, who will review the case and decide on formal charges.

Other students may be involved as well, authorities said.

Santa Ana police asked that anyone with further information about the case contact investigator Jaime Rodriguez at (714) 245-8308.