Man ‘sent from God’ sentenced

A man who illegally entered the St. John the Baptist elementary school campus and refused to leave after administrators confronted him has been released, Costa Mesa police said. He was not, as was erroneously reported in another publication, a registered sex offender, police said.

Antonio Mondragon, 28, was arrested at the school Feb. 8 when he refused to leave the campus, telling school officials he was “sent from God,” authorities said. Mondragon climbed a fence on the school’s field before classes began, then left, police said. He reentered the campus later in the day and was confronted by a teacher, authorities said. When he refused to leave, administrators called police, investigators said.

In a letter to parents, school officials said the man politely refused to leave. Mental health experts evaluated Mondragon at the police station and said he did not need to be committed, police said.

Mondragon pleaded no contest to trespassing on the school grounds Wednesday and was released, given credit for the five days he served in jail from his arrest. Mondragon was sentenced to one-year informal probation, prosecutors said.