Teacher Pleads Not Guilty in Abuse Case

A veteran San Fernando Valley elementary school teacher pleaded not guilty Friday to charges that he molested seven young girls from 1968 through 1996.

The plea was by Paul Alphonse Kreutzer, who is on leave from his job teaching second- and third-grade students at Liggett Street Elementary School in Panorama City.

Alleged victims came forward who had seen media reports of Kreutzer’s arrest on child pornography charges in March, police said.

“We’ve got women coming forward in their late 30s and early 40s,” said Randy Aden, a supervisory special agent for the FBI. “After the publicity surrounding his arrest we started receiving phone calls from women who indicated that he was their teacher, or some sort of instructor, who sexually exploited them.”

Jeannie King, 39, was one of two mothers of Liggett students who attended the arraignment Friday in Van Nuys Municipal Court. None of the alleged victims listed in the complaint against Kreutzer were students at Liggett, but King said the arrest has been very traumatic for students and parents at the school.

“We got to know him. He seemed like Mr. Rogers,” said King. “It’s scary. Your imagination runs wild.”

Robin Hutton, another Liggett parent, said Kreutzer became close to her family, even attending her daughter’s birthday party.

Kreutzer has worked for the district since 1986. He worked at Vena Elementary School in Pacoima from 1986 to 1991 and at Sunland Elementary School in Sunland from 1991 to 1996, according to Shel Erlich, a spokesman for Los Angeles Unified School District. He joined the Liggett faculty in 1996.

Erlich said he could not comment on whether there were any complaints against Kreutzer, citing the confidentiality of personnel records.

Liggett Principal David Sanchez said Kreutzer had a good reputation at the school and that there were no warning signs before his March arrest on the pornography charges.

“We were all shocked,” Sanchez said. “He was a very good teacher. The parents liked him.”

The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles said that Kreutzer had worked at three parochial schools in the 1970s and 1980s, including Our Lady of Peace in North Hills, and Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Newhall. A spokesman declined to identify the third school, saying officials there had not yet been contacted.

Aden, the FBI agent, said some of the seven alleged victims came to police while others were found later through the course of the investigation.

“Our first call came from out of state. Somebody in California saw the press coverage and contacted someone in another state who had been a victim,” Aden said.

“[The alleged victims] told us they never would have felt comfortable coming forward if he had not been arrested. Sometimes it takes an arrest. Sometimes it takes another victim coming forward.”

On Friday, Kreutzer was represented by a public defender.

Peggy Beckstrom, the deputy district attorney handling the case, declined to discuss the allegations against Kreutzer. She said the alleged victims will probably testify in open court at the preliminary hearing.

“If a child walks up to you when they are 7, or a 30- or 40-year-old looks at you and says they were molested, what difference does it make?” Beckstrom asked. “If a child was molested one day ago or 20 years ago it doesn’t matter.”