Former Village View fourth-grade teacher arrested

HUNTINGTON BEACH -- A former Village View Elementary School teacher

pleaded not guilty this week to charges of sexually abusing four boys --

two of whom are local.

Jason Abhyankar, 26, taught fourth grade at the school from September

1997 to June, when he resigned without giving a reason. The Huntington

Beach resident most recently worked at Portola Hills Elementary School in

Trabuco Canyon, but a district report shows his temporary contract was

not renewed last month.

Two of the students he is accused of molesting come from Village View.

Ocean View School District officials said they were unaware of any

complaints against Abhyankar during his term at the Huntington Beach

campus.

“All of us are absolutely shocked,” Assistant Supt. Michael Luker said.

But, Luker cautioned against jumping to any conclusions.

“I don’t know what the truth is yet,” he said.

The identities of the students are not being revealed, but they are under

14 years old, said Tori Richards, spokeswoman for the district attorney’s

office.

The charges cover a period from February 1998 to January, Richards said.

Parents of children now attending Village View have mixed emotions about

the criminal charges.

Resident Karen Morris is concerned about the safety of her daughter in

first grade, but said she is relieved Abhyankar no longer works here.

Administrators need to do a better job of screening out potential

predators so his daughter in third grade and his son in fifth grade won’t

be in danger, resident Mike Schermerhorn said.

The district has a program in place that teaches students as young as

kindergarten about the difference between “safe” and “bad” touching,

Luker said. Children are taught to report the wrong kind of touching to a

respected adult, he said.

Abhyankar was arrested Friday at his home after one of the students made

a report, Richards said.

Abhyankar is being held on $250,000 bail in Orange County Jail. A

preliminary hearing is set for April 21. If convicted, the maximum

penalty is 24 years in prison and mandatory registration as a sex

offender, Richards said.