Teacher Faces 19 Counts in Sex Case

A Camarillo High School teacher accused of sexual misconduct with a 17-year-old student was charged Thursday with multiple felony counts involving four other teenage boys.

Prosecutors filed a 19-count complaint against Chad Wenzlick Pridgen, 30, three days after the science teacher and tennis coach was arrested on suspicion of trying to seduce a minor using pornography.

A dozen of the charges allege oral copulation with a minor, including one forced incident.

If convicted, Pridgen could face a maximum of 18 years in prison.

Pridgen, who remains in custody in lieu of $250,000 bail, appeared at a brief hearing in Ventura County Superior Court but did not enter a plea.

He is scheduled for arraignment Feb. 13.

Defense attorney Stephen Sitkoff refused to comment on behalf of his client, saying, “Cases should be tried in court.”

Deputy Dist. Atty. Douglas Ridley said authorities are continuing to interview possible victims and more charges may be filed against Pridgen.

Sheriff’s investigators said Thursday afternoon they believed they had found a sixth victim.

“We are learning new things hourly,” Ridley said.

Pridgen was arrested Tuesday night at his Camarillo home after a weeklong sheriff’s investigation, prompted by a report from a student, now 18, that the teacher showed him pornography, gave him alcohol and behaved lewdly in front of him.

Ridley would not comment on the facts of the case, including whether the other teenagers accusing Pridgen of molestation are also Camarillo High School students.

Meanwhile, Oxnard Union High School District officials have placed Pridgen on paid leave pending the outcome of their own investigation.

School board members will review the matter at their meeting Wednesday.

For now, a substitute teacher will take over Pridgen’s course load, which includes four Advanced Placement science classes, Camarillo High School Principal Sylvia Jackson said.

School officials also have arranged for Oxnard High School’s AP science teacher to tutor Pridgen’s environmental science and chemistry students one day a week.

“This is the time of year when preparation for the AP exams in May becomes very intense,” Jackson said. “We’re going to try to support them as best we can.”

As for Pridgen’s other duties, Jackson said the school’s athletic director will temporarily coach the boys’ tennis team.

Another Camarillo High teacher also has agreed to take over the school’s Envirothon team, which competes in academic contests about environmental issues.

Last summer, Pridgen took seven students to the national competition in Mississippi, where they came in 10th.

At the high school Thursday, reactions to Pridgen’s arrest ranged from shock to ambivalence.

“This is totally unexpected to me,” said freshman Tyler Perez, 14. “Now I have to think about my teachers when I go into class.”

But senior Meagan Martinez, 18, said Pridgen’s arrest was not seen as a major disruption by some students.

“Kids were surprised but most weren’t impacted. You’d like to think that it’s not common, but stuff like this goes on everywhere,” she said. “There is so much else going on right now, like prom and college, that it’s not that big a deal.”

Jackson said that is the message she and other administrators are trying to send to students and teachers.

“It is tough, but what we have to do is focus on why we are here, and that’s for student learning,” she said.

“We have to rely on our professional and collegial relationships and just get through this.”

Times staff writer Timothy Hughes contributed to this report.