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A Graham Middle School teacher was arrested Wednesday afternoon for allegedly molesting a 12-year-old female student, according to the Mountain View Police Department.
In April, the student reported that Ralph Turner, a 57-year-old Sunnyvale resident, inappropriately touched her, according to the statement.
The student initially reported the incident to the Mountain View Whisman School District at the end of March, and Turner was put on administrative leave on March 28, according to a letter the school district sent to parents and staff on June 5.
In response to the report, the Mountain View Police Department opened an investigation. During the investigation, officials spoke with the victim and other students who may have been victims or witnesses, according to the police statement.
The school district waited to inform the community of the incident so as not to compromise the police investigation, according to the June 5 letter.
“Due to the sensitive circumstances and serious nature of the incident, it was critical that we maintained confidentiality throughout the investigation to protect students, staff and families,” Superintendent Ayindé Rudolph said in the letter. “Premature disclosure of information could have compromised the investigation and potentially hindered the ability of law enforcement to take the necessary steps to address the situation appropriately.”
From the investigation, police obtained a warrant for Turner for suspicion of “annoying and molesting a child under 14 as well as false imprisonment.” Turner was arrested without incident around 1 p.m. on June 5, police said.
Turner was booked into Santa Clara County Main Jail and is being held on $15,000 bail, according to county records.
Mountain View police are concerned that there may be additional victims and are asking anyone with more information to immediately contact Det. Guillermo de Lira at guillermo.delira@mountainview.gov.
Police declined to provide further details on the case, citing an ongoing investigation.
This story was updated on June 6 to include new information from the Mountain View Whisman School District.
Process as it stood work (I hope). Victim and family went Directly to Police! It is a criminal matter –
which the school or district administrators ARE NOT EQUIPPED TO HANDLE.
in general QED / past decade: Santa Clara County case where a principal ‘botched her job’ in such a way that she was convicted of a crime.
local QED / The relatively recent case, still in litigation against MVWSD, where a teacher at elementary alleged such abuse, district seems to have botched, and the perpetuator was later arrested at another district for abusing students.