A history teacher junior varsity boys basketball coach and California High School in South Whittier is accused of carrying on a sexual relationship with a teenage student, authorities announced Thursday.
John Gilbert Orellano, 36, of Cypress was arrested Wednesday and booked on suspicion of unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor, Sgt. Nancy Drake of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Special Victims Bureau said in a written statement.
“The teacher had recently resigned from Cal High School, located in unincorporated Whittier, as a result of a school inquiry that led to the criminal investigation,” Drake said.
Whittier Union High School District officials learned of the alleged inappropriate behavior March 13 and immediately placed Orellano on administrative leave, according to district officials. Orellano resigned from his position two days later.
The investigation began with allegations that Orellano had sent sexually explicit text messages to the victim beginning in January , according to Drake.
“During the initial investigation involving the illicit text messages from Mr. Orellano to the victim, additional information was provided which included a sexual relationship,” she said. The sexual relationship was believed to have begun shortly after the text messages.
Orellano has been employed by the WUHSD for two years, according to district officials.
Prior to the molestation, Orellano and the victim maintained a“friendly relationship” as he was working as a history teacher, Drake said.
In a statement, WUHSD Superintendent Sandy Thorstenson described the alleged misconduct as a betrayal.
“We have developed a culture of trust in our schools and in our community,” she said. “To have something like this happen on one of our campuses is a blatant violation of that trust and we take that very seriously. In as much as this is a crime against a student – it is also a crime against this entire community and anything we can do to assist the (district attorney) in moving this forward, we will.”
Thorstenson added that parents of students at the school have been notified via email, automated phone calls and a statement posted on the district’s website.
“Our culture of trust also includes our commitment to being forthcoming to the parents and our community,” she said.
The superintendent also credited students at Cal High for helping expose the alleged wrongdoing.
“We have worked to ensure our students feel safe and secure on our campuses – but they also know they are an integral part of promoting that environment,” she said. “In this case I want to acknowledge our students for going to the principal and letting him know what they were hearing. It’s this kind of open, honest communication that helped bring this issue to light.”
The district filed a complaint against the teacher with the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing, officials said. As the process continued, Orellano was prohibited from having any contact with WHUSD students or staff.
As with all prospective employees at the district, Orellano went through a criminal background check when hired.
WUHSD Assistant Superintendent of Personnel said the situation was handled swiftly.
“The district’s immediate response upon hearing allegations against the former California High School teacher was to investigate and quickly take decisive action, conducting a two-day internal investigation in March and immediately coordinating with Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department officials,” he said in a statement.
“The district has a zero tolerance policy for any form of inappropriate personal communication or relationship between students and took swift and immediate action as soon as we learned of the allegations made against the former teacher.”
Orellano was being held in lieu of $240,000 bail at the sheriff’s Norwalk Station, according to county booking records.
He was expected to be arraigned Friday in Norwalk Superior Court, officials said.