Teacher loses job at Catholic school because of ex-husband

SAN DIEGO -- A veteran teacher at a Catholic school has lost her job because school officials are worried her ex-husband, now serving a jail sentence for domestic abuse and stalking, poses a danger to students and teachers when he is released.

When Martin Charlesworth, 41, showed up at Holy Trinity School in El Cajon in January, school officials put the school on lockdown and called police. By coming to the school, he was in violation of a restraining order, court records indicate.

Later, school officials put second-grade teacher Carie Charlesworth on “indefinite leave” and removed her four children from the school.

Since then, Charlesworth, 39, has been on paid leave but recently was informed that, after 14 years as a teacher in the San Diego Catholic diocese, she will not be offered a teaching job for next school year.

“Please understand that this was a very difficult decision to make and we are deeply, deeply sorry about this situation,” the diocese’s director of schools wrote. “We will continue to pray for you and your family.”

Charlesworth said Friday that she and her children are being punished for her ex-husband’s volatile behavior. She said she is unsure how she will support the family .

“I was shocked that they were going to leave me without a job,” she said. “It was devastating.”

Meanwhile, her ex-husband, listed on jail records as 6 feet and 230 pounds, is set to be released June 28 from county jail. Soon after the school incident, he pleaded guilty to felony counts of domestic abuse and stalking in violation of a restraining order.

Martin Charlesworth, a former teacher, was sentenced to 365 days in jail, minus credit for time already served and good behavior. Once released, under a court order, he must wear a GPS monitor and stay away from his ex-wife.

Martin Charlesworth’s attorney said her client had gone to the school only to discuss custody issues and is apologetic about the incident. “He just wants what’s best for the children and Carie,” said attorney Aniko Rushakoff, who represented him during the criminal proceeding. “He still loves her very much.”

Carie Charlesworth said that based on her ex-husband’s earlier behavior, and an argument the two had the previous weekend, she was physically afraid of him when he showed up in the parking lot of the school.

“I followed all the things they tell domestic abuse victims to do,” she said. “Now I feel I was the one who got punished. This is why other victims do not come forward.”

tony.perry@latimes.com