Results matching “megaw” from Inland Empire Courts

RANCHO CUCAMONGA -- A trial scheduled to begin today for an Upland elementary school teacher accused of molesting his students has been postponed.

James Andrew Megaw's trial was postponed because a different jury trial is under way in the Rancho Cucamonga courtroom where his case would be heard, said Deputy District Attorney Jason Anderson.

Megaw, the former head of Upland's teachers union, faces five felonies for alleged inappropriate sexual touching of students in his class of second- and third-graders.

Megaw is next due in West Valley Superior Court for a Feb. 19 pre-trial hearing.

RANCHO CUCAMONGA -- A judge this morning dismissed one of six felony charges filed against an Upland elementary school teacher accused of molesting children in his class.

James Andrew Megaw, 42, now faces five felony counts for his alleged inappropriate contact with three girls and two boys in his class of second- and third-graders at Valencia Elementary School.

Attorneys for Megaw, the former head of Upland's teachers union, had moved to dismiss all six counts filed by prosecutors.

In the motion, Megaw's attorneys questioned the credibility of the children who testified about the alleged abuse during an April preliminary hearing in West Valley Superior Court.

Judge Michael A. Sachs said in court today that his role, at this stage in the case, is not to judge the credibility of the alleged victims -- that will be an issue for a jury to consider, he said.

The charge Sachs dismissed -- associated with allegations made by a boy in Megaw's class -- was dismissed because Sachs ruled there was insufficient evidence presented at the preliminary hearing for Megaw to stand trial on the allegation.

Megaw's alleged conduct with the boy wasn't as overt as the acts Megaw allegedly committed with the other children, said Deputy District Attorney Jason Anderson, who is prosecuting Megaw's case.

And the boy's memory of the alleged abuse was hazy when he testified in April, Anderson said.

Megaw, of Rancho Cucamonga, is set to return to court Aug. 19 for a pre-trial hearing.

A judge is set to rule that day on a request from prosecutors to permit testimony during Megaw's trial about three prior abuse allegations against Megaw, Anderson said.

Prosecutors are also seeking to admit as evidence testimony about gay pornography images found by police on the computer Megaw used at Valencia Elementary School, Anderson said.

Megaw, known professionally as Andy Megaw, was hired by the Upland Unified School District in 1995, and began working at Valencia in 1999.

In addition to his position with the Upland Teachers Association, Megaw held numerous leadership positions with the California Teachers Association.

He resigned in October after the abuse allegations surfaced, and has remained free on $600,000 bail since charges were filed in December.

A defense motion to drop charges against an Upland schoolteacher charged with molesting his students was not heard as scheduled this morning, a prosecutor said.

James Andrew Megaw, 42, is charged with six felonies for allegedly rubbing students' genitals in his class of second- and third-graders at Valencia Elementary School.

Megaw's defense attorney, Leonard Levine, said last month that he will seek dismissal of two of the six charges.

The hearing to consider the defense motion was continued to June 12 in West Valley Superior Court, said Deputy District Attorney Jason Anderson.

Former Valencia Elementary School teacher James Andrew Megaw pleaded not guilty this morning to six felony counts of child molestation.

Megaw, 42, of Rancho Cucamonga, did not speak during the two-minute hearing in West Valley Superior Court. His defense attorney, Leonard Levine, entered the not guilty pleas on his behalf.

Following a preliminary hearing last week, a judge ruled that Megaw must stand trial on four of six counts of lewd or lascivious acts with a child.

Despite the judge's ruling, Deputy District Attorney Jason Anderson filed all six original counts against Megaw before this morning's arraignment hearing.

After the hearing, Levine said he will file a motion to dismiss the two counts based on the insufficiency of the evidence presented by prosecutors at the preliminary hearing.

Levine said he expects a judge to rule on his motion to dismiss on May 11, when Megaw, who remains free on $600,000 bail, is next due in court.

Children who testified at last week's preliminary hearing said Megaw touched their genitals over their clothing during class.

Megaw, the former head of Upland's teachers union, taught second- and third-graders at Valencia.

Upland teacher James Andrew Megaw is due in court Tuesday morning to be arraigned on charges that he molested students at Valencia Elementary School.

Following a preliminary hearing last week in West Valley Superior Court, a judge held Megaw, 42, to answer on four of six felony counts originally filed by prosecutors.

Megaw's prosecutor, Deputy District Attorney Jason Anderson, said he intends to file all six charges against Megaw despite last week's ruling, and ask a new judge to hold Megaw to answer on all six based on the preliminary hearing testimony.

Continue reading for two stories from last week on Megaw's case.

An Upland teacher accused of molesting six of his students appeared in West Valley Superior Court Wednesday for a routine, largely uneventful hearing.

James Andrew Megaw, 42, is accused of inappropriately touching three boys and three girls in his Valencia Elementary School class of second- and third-graders.

Megaw, known professionally as Andy Megaw, is the former head of Upland's teachers union.

He has resigned from his position at the school and pleaded not guilty to the criminal charges. He is free on a $600,000 bond.

On Thursday, Megaw, his attorney and the prosecutor all appeared in court for a status hearing on the case. They set a future status hearing date of Feb. 19.

After the hearing, Leonard Levine, Megaw's attorney, said he is waiting for additional information on the case from prosecutors.

Levine said he expects to receive the information within a week, and expects a preliminary hearing to be held for the case in March.

Click here to read past stories on Megaw's case.

An Upland YMCA teacher accused of touching a 4-year-old boy's genitals agreed to plead guilty to one count of felony child molestation Monday in West Valley Superior Court.

Garrett Wayne Ammon, 30, of Rancho Cucamonga, will be sentenced to three years in state prison on Feb. 10, said Deputy District Attorney Karen Schmauss.

Ammon initially faced two felony counts of lewd act on a child under 14 years old. One count will be dismissed as part of Ammon's plea agreement, Schmauss said.

Schmauss said Ammon will have to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life as a result of his conviction.

"His career as a preschool teacher is over forever, as it should be," Schmauss said.

A 4-year-old boy in one of Ammon's classes at the Scheu Family YMCA of Upland told police that Ammon touched his genitals in the classroom and in the school's bathroom.

When he was arrested on Dec. 12, Ammon told police he abused the boy on at least seven different occasions.

"I was curious, but I knew it would end up bad and knew it was wrong," Ammon told police, according to police reports in Ammon's case file.

Before his arrest, Ammon had worked as a child-care teacher for nine years at various businesses.

The 4-year-old boy told police there were other students in the class who Ammon abused. Ammon denied molesting other children.

Ammon was one of two Upland schoolteachers charged with child molestation in December.

Andy Megaw is accused of inappropriately touching six students in his class of second- and third-graders at Valencia Elementary School.

Megaw, the former head of Upland's teachers' union, has pleaded not guilty to charges and is next due in court Jan. 22.

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UPLAND -- Police reports in the public court file of a former Upland elementary school teacher accused of molesting six children detail the allegations of one of the alleged victims.

An 8-year-old boy in James Andrew Megaw's Valencia Elementary School class told police that Megaw would touch him inappropriately over his clothing on a daily basis.

The boy, who was interviewed by police Oct. 24 at his home, told investigators that the abuse started one week after school started in August.

Prosecutors filed six felony counts of lewd act on a child under 14 years old against Megaw, of Rancho Cucamonga, last week.

Megaw, 42, pleaded not guilty to the charges and is currently free on $600,000 bail.

The boy told police the touching would occur when he would walk up to Megaw's desk seeking help on an assignment.

While positioned behind Megaw's desk, out of view of the rest of the class, the boy told police Megaw would rub the boy's genitals through his clothing for up to 40 seconds.

The boy told police Megaw would ask him, "How do you like that?" and "Does that feel good?" according to the police report.

The boy said Megaw would touch his own genitals while touching the boy.

RANCHO CUCAMONGA - An Upland schoolteacher accused of molesting six of his students pleaded not guilty to criminal charges Friday in West Valley Superior Court.

James Andrew Megaw, 42, who resigned this week from his position at Valencia Elementary School, was charged Thursday with six counts of committing a lewd act on a child under 14 years old.

Prosecutors say Megaw, of Rancho Cucamonga, inappropriately touched three girls and three boys ranging in age from 7 to 9 years old.

Five of the alleged crimes occurred between Aug. 20 and Oct. 28, and one happened between Aug. 20, 2006 and June 30 2007, said Deputy District Attorney Jason Anderson.

Leonard Levine, Megaw's attorney, said after the hearing that Megaw is in a "state of shock" over the accusations of inappropriate sexual touching.

Prosecutors accuse Megaw of touching the students on the outside of their clothing, Levine said.

"This is a good man who has been falsely accused, and hopefully the truth will come out sooner rather than later," Levine said.

By Lori Consalvo and Will Bigham
Staff Writers

UPLAND -- The San Bernardino County District Attorney's Office filed six counts of child molestation Thursday against a Valencia Elementary School teacher.

James Andrew Megaw of Rancho Cucamonga is accused of sexually molesting several current and former students.

He allegedly had inappropriate sexual contact with three boys and three girls ages seven to nine years old.

If convicted on all counts, Megaw could face up to 11 years and four months in state prison, according to an Upland police news release.