Former UCLA child care center employee found guilty of child sexual abuse
Former UCLA child care center employee found guilty of child sexual abuse
A former preschool teacher at the Kiegler Center, one of UCLA’s child care centers, has been found guilty of nine misdemeanor counts involving child sexual abuse, the Los Angeles City Attorney’s Office announced Tuesday, April 29.
Christopher Rodriguez, 51, was found guilty on counts involving child sexual abuse, including sexual battery with restraint, penetration with a foreign object, and child abuse, according to to the city attorney.
Rodriguez faces up to seven and a half years in county jail; he is scheduled to be sentenced May 9. He will be required to register as a sex offender, officials said.
The guilty verdicts last week followed a 2024 mistrial in which a jury failed to reach a verdict on 11 misdemeanor counts, the Daily Bruin reported.
The defendant worked in various centers during his nearly 25 years at the UCLA Early Care and Education Center, including the Kiegler Center and University Village, wrote the Daily Bruin. The UCLA ECE centers provide care to children of UCLA-affiliated families between the ages of two months to six years old.
The LA City Attorney’s Office said the crimes were committed between July and December 2023.
On Dec. 15, 2023, an ECE employee called the child abuse hotline and reported Rodriguez to authorities after he was seen with his head, torso, and arm on a child. In a statement, the UCLA ECE Center said the hotline consultant downgraded the employee’s report to a consultation, which did not require an investigation for that level of conduct. Rodriguez was placed on investigatory leave on Dec. 18, 2023, and the incident was reported to the DSS Community Care Licensing Division.
The parents of the student involved in an employee’s report from Dec. 15 brought additional allegations against Rodriguez, and the University Campus Police Department launched an investigation in January 2024, according to officials. The investigation led to his arrest in February 2024.
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