California teen sexually assaults child at elementary school after trespassing on campus
LAKELAND VILLAGE, CALIFORNIA: A 15-year-old Southern California teen was arrested after he allegedly sexually assaulted a child on a school campus, as per the Riverside County. The incident happened at Lakeland Village School in Lake Elsinore on Monday, October 17.
The teen entered the school, which has students in kindergarten till the eighth gradat 11:30 am The accused did not attend the school or had prior permission to be there. According to the Riverside County Sheriff's Department, the teen "committed a lewd act upon a child while on campus" and then fled, after which the school announced a lockdown until the teenager was arrested shortly after on a nearby street.
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As per Fox News, a video of the arrest shows the teenager on the ground while school officials hold him down. The suspect, who complied with the adults, asked to use the restroom but was refrained from doing so. According to the authorities, there are chances that several students were assaulted, but the exact number remains unknown. It is also unclear how the accused entered the school campus,and it is believed he acted alone.
The Sheriff's Department said, "Based on evidence obtained at the scene, investigators are certain the suspect acted alone and there are no other suspects wanted in connection for this case."
In a statement obtained by FOX 11 Los Angeles, Lake Elsinore Unified School District said that the incident was "unsettling" for parents. The statement read, "From this situation, we are going to review our emergency protocols across the district because if there are any steps that we can take to increase safety, security and timely communication with our staff and families, then we want to identify and adopt these improvements."
A parent, Jeremy Coons, while speaking to the outlet said, "There needs to be somebody here to protect our schools. If they can't, then we'll pull them out, or we'll come here and protect them ourselves."
Authorities are currently investigating the incident.
In a seperate incident, a former high school band director was charged with sexual harassment after allegations surfaced that he had groomed a minor student and drew him into a relationship with expensive gifts. It is reported that Brandon Neil Sams, 46, is looking at a long prison sentence after being charged with a count of coercion and enticement of a minor and obstruction of justice on October 7.
The parents of the victim had reported their suspicions about the teacher on September 26. Upon receipt of the complaint, the school management informed the police. The parents helped investigators by providing the debit and credit cards and a computer that Sams had given their son. He had also sent the boy some disturbing messages, one of which even mentioned being ‘gay for pay’ - insinuating that the laptop was in exchange for a sexually graphic picture of the student himself.