Teacher Arrested in Molestations

School officials were tight-lipped Tuesday about allegations that a teacher at Portola Hills Elementary molested four boys, two of them students at the Trabuco Canyon school and two earlier at a Huntington Beach school.

Jason Abhyankar, 26, pleaded not guilty Monday to four counts of inappropriately touching children under the age of 14, said Tori Richards, spokeswoman for the Orange County district attorney’s office. All of the alleged incidents took place on school grounds, she said.

Abhyankar, a Huntington Beach resident, had been teaching fourth grade at Portola Hills since September. He was arrested Friday night, Richards said, on suspicion of molesting two students there and of fondling two students earlier at Village View Elementary School in Huntington Beach.

Abhyankar is being held in the Orange County Jail on $250,000 bail, authorities said. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for April 21. If convicted, Abhyankar faces a maximum of 24 years in prison.

Officials at Saddleback Valley Unified School District, which includes the Portola Hills campus, would not say Tuesday whether Abhyankar is still on the payroll.

“All comments regarding Jason Abhyankar are being handled by the district attorney’s office,” Supt. Peter Hartman said.

A district report showed that Abhyankar’s temporary contract was one of several not renewed last month.

Mike Luker, assistant superintendent for human resources at the Ocean View School District, confirmed that Abhyankar worked at Village View for two years and resigned, but he did not elaborate.

Students at Portola Hills Elementary said Tuesday that a new teacher took over Abhyankar’s class in January.