Upland YMCA teacher pleads guilty to molestation, gets 3 years in prison
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.
THIS MONSTER WAS MY CHILDS TEACHER 2 YEARS BEFORE HE WAS CAUGHT & ARRESTED. WHEN MY CHILD ATTENDED THE UPLAND YMCA I HAD A FEELING SOMETHING WAS WRONG BECAUSE MY CHILD DID NOT WANT TO GO TO SCHOOL ANYMORE I ASKED MY CHILD WHY & MY CHILD TOLD ME MR. GARRETT HURT HIM. I WENT TO THE YMCA AND BROUGHT THIS TO THE ATTENTION OF THE STAFF GUESS WHAT THE STAFF DID? NOTHING, BUT ASK MR. MONSTER/GARRETT TO TALK TO ME ABOUT IT. THE UPLAND YMCA DID NOT DO ANY FURTHER INVESTAGATING ON THE MATTER. WHEN I FOUND OUT ABOUT THIS MONSTERS ARREST IN 2010 TWO YEARS AFTER HE GOT CAUGHT I CONTACTED THE UPLAND YMCA AND ASKED WHY WAS I NOT NOTIFIED OF THE MONSTER THAT ONCE CARED FOR MAYBE EVEN HURT MY CHILD, WELL AS YOU CAN GUESS I GOT NO ANSWERS FROM THE C.E.O. OF THE YMCA HERSELF. SHE ASKED WHAT I WANTED IN A VERY RUDE WAY & ASSUMED I WANTED TO SUE THE COMPANY FOR MONEY, I TOLD HER ALL I WANTED WAS FOR THE UPLAND YMCA TO CONTACT & INFORM ALL OF THE PREVIOUS PARENTS THAT HAD EVER HAD THEIR CHILDREN IN THAT MONSTERS CARE WHAT HE HAD DONE. I HAVE LIVED IN THE SAME PLACE (NOT FAR FROM THE YMCA) SINCE THEN & I HAD NOT HEARD OF THIS MONSTERS ARREST. I WAS SURE I WASNT THE ONLY PARENT THAT WAS JUST FINDING OUT ABOUT THIS. I FEEL ALL THE PARENTS HAVE A RIGHT TO KNOW THAT THE "TEACHER" THEY TRUSTED THEIR CHILDREN WITH HAD BEEN ARRESTED. I CANT HELP BUT WONDER IF I HAD BEEN CONTACED IN 2008 INSTEAD OF TWO YEARS LATER IN 2010 MY CHILD WOULD HAVE REMEMBERED ANY WRONG DOINGS THAT MAY OR MAY NOT HAVE HAPPENED TO HIM WHEN HE WAS INTERVIEWED. I BELIEVE THAT THE UPLAND YMCA HAS DONE A VERY GOOD JOB OF SWEEPING THIS MATTER UNDER THE RUG BUT THATS JUST MY OPINION REALLY WHAT GOOD IS MY OPINION? IM ONLY A LAW ABIDING, TAX PAYING, VOTING, CITIZEN. I HAVE NOTHING BUT MY WORDS UNLIKE THE UPLAND YMCA WHO BY THE WAY JUST OPENED A HUGE NEW FACILITY ON FOOTHILL BLVD. WHICH I WILL NEVER STEP FOOT IN! ALL I CAN DO IS HOPE THAT SOMEONE THAT READS THIS & THAT HAS ANY FURTHER INFORMATION ON THE EVIL DOINGS OF THIS MONSTER "GARRETT WAYNE AMMON" COMES FORWARD BEFORE HE IS SET FREE WHICH I HEAR IS SOMETIME THIS YEAR-2011. I ALSO ASKED THE C.E.O. OF THE UPLAND YMCA HOW SHE SLEEPS AT NIGHT SHE ANSWERED "FINE" BUT I GUESS I SHOULD HAVE KNOWN THAT BY ALL THE MONEY THEY RAISED & ARE PROBABLY MAKING ON THE HUGE NEW FACILITY THEY JUST RECENTLY OPENED. THEY ALL SLEEP VERY COMFORTABLE...... IT MUST BE NICE!