Jury Convicts O.C. Teacher in Molestations

An Orange County jury Wednesday convicted a former teacher of molesting students in his classrooms in two county districts where he taught fourth grade.

Jason Abhyankar, 28, was found guilty of nine felony child molestation counts involving three boys, two at Village View Elementary in the Ocean View School District and one at Portola Hills Elementary School in the Saddleback Valley Unified district.

He faces a maximum sentence of 24 years in prison when he is sentenced March 8, said Deputy Dist. Atty. Matt Murphy.

“Happy doesn’t even begin to describe it,� said Kris Ekberg, whose son was molested by Abhyankar when he taught at Village View Elementary in Huntington Beach. “We’re talking two years of not sleeping because we were so upset.�

Kenneth Schreiber, Abhyankar’s attorney, said he will recommend that his client appeal the decision.

“Do I think the verdict was supported by the evidence? No,� Schreiber said.

Still, the jury took less than a day to convict Abhyankar.

Superior Court Judge Carla Singer took the unusual step of ordering the former teacher, who had been free on $150,000 bail, taken into custody Monday after closing arguments. She said the evidence against him was overwhelming.

“The jury did the right thing,� Murphy said. “The defendant violated a sacred trust and these little boys have waited a long time for justice.�

In his closing arguments, Murphy also criticized the conduct of officials in the Ocean View School District, where Abhyankar taught from 1997 to 1999.

Ekberg and the parents of two other children molested by Abhyankar have filed a multimillion-dollar lawsuit against the Huntington Beach school system. They contend that officials wrote a letter of recommendation for the teacher even though they suspected him of acting inappropriately around his students. Abhyankar subsequently was hired to teach at Portola Hills.

Sheriff’s officials began investigating Abhyankar in January 2000, after a Portola Hills student said his teacher had touched him inappropriately. After looking into those allegations, authorities interviewed Abhyankar’s former students in Huntington Beach.

They ultimately charged the teacher with molesting two students from Huntington Beach and two from south Orange County.

The jury said there was not enough evidence to convict Abhyankar of molesting the fourth boy, whom prosecutors said was touched over his clothing.

The three other boys were the victims of more serious violations, the prosecutor said. One child was orally copulated during lunchtime behind a locked classroom door. Another was fondled at the teacher’s desk during lunch. A third was touched in front of a classroom full of students.

“He took advantage of his position to satisfy his own sexual desires,� Murphy said.

Jury foreman Aaron Spencer said the jurors thought Ocean View should not have written a recommendation for the teacher.

Because of the civil case, officials in the Ocean View district declined to comment.

“The world needs to hear that these bad people exist,� Ekberg said. “This will open people’s eyes so this doesn’t happen again.�