Abusive Teacher Is Back in Custody

A former Camarillo High School teacher convicted of molesting several of his male students was ordered to Wasco State Prison on Friday for a 90-day evaluation, which will help determine whether he is better suited for probation or incarceration.

Chad Wenzlick Pridgen, 31, who arrived in Ventura County Superior Court dressed in sweat clothes and sneakers, was immediately handcuffed and taken into custody following a brief hearing. Pridgen had been free on $500,000 bail since last spring.

Once Pridgen’s evaluation is complete, Judge Bruce Clark will consider the findings, along with evidence from the case, arguments from attorneys and statements made by victims, in imposing a sentence. A hearing date has not been set.

Pridgen pleaded guilty in November to 20 felony and misdemeanor counts involving 11 teenage boys -- nine of whom were students at Camarillo High when he taught upper-level science and coached boys’ soccer.

Outside of court Friday, family members of the victims said they were glad to see Pridgen taken into custody, but said they were upset at the possibility that he could be sentenced to probation for his crimes.

“To me, Pridgen has handed these boys a lifetime sentence of misery,” said the father of two victims. “For them to consider probation is just ludicrous.”

The last year has been particularly difficult for parents and victims, another father said. Knowing Pridgen was free on bail, he said, they have had to worry about bumping into him at a grocery store or gas station.

“For a year, he’s been walking around the city of Camarillo,” the father said. “At least now he’s off the street.”

Ventura County Deputy Dist. Atty. Douglas Ridley would not comment on whether he would push for the maximum sentence of 13 years in state prison. It’s legally possible, Ridley said, for Clark to release Pridgen when he returns from his evaluation. But he said he would be shocked if that happened.

“I would expect him to get an additional sentence, and my hope is that would be a lot of years in state prison,” Ridley said.

Lt. Troy Ojeda, a Wasco spokesman, said about 90% of inmates sent to the Kern County prison for diagnostic study are sentenced back to prison rather than given probation.

The warden’s recommendation is based on the facts of the case, the inmate’s criminal history, family history and interviews with counselors and psychologists, Ojeda said.

Kevin DeNoce, a Ventura attorney who has filed a civil lawsuit against Pridgen, the Oxnard Union High School District and several Camarillo High officials, said he expects Clark to impose a fair sentence, which he believes would include prison time.

DeNoce said he also expects to reach a “reasonable settlement” with school district officials on the lawsuit.

“That, and the fact that Pridgen was remanded today is the type of justice these abused kids need in order to be made whole,” he said.

Before pleading guilty last fall, Pridgen faced 39 felony and misdemeanor counts, including charges that he gave minors alcohol, masturbated in front of them and engaged in oral sex with them during weekend and after-school parties he hosted in his Camarillo home.

He was arrested Feb. 5, 2002, after a Sheriff’s Department investigation prompted by the complaint of one student, now 18. The youth reported Pridgen’s behavior to authorities after an incident Jan. 31, when he said Pridgen asked the boy to perform oral sex on another student in exchange for “not giving him a bad grade,” according to court documents.

Equipping the student with a concealed microphone and transmitter, authorities heard Pridgen admit he had watched pornographic videos with the boy and had bought him alcohol, the documents said.