A former teacher at La Jolla Country Day School (LJCDS) has been arrested for allegedly sexually assaulting a minor, police confirmed.
Jonathan Sammartino was arrested near San Jose on three felony counts of sexual misconduct with a minor, according to a statement released by the school.
San Diego Police Department Lt. Brent Williams said Sammartino is charged with one count of statutory rape and two counts involving sex acts with a minor. SDPD confirmed the charges were filed locally.
According to a statement from The Harker School in San Jose where Sammartino taught beginning this school year, he was arrested Tuesday based on "allegations of a sexual assault of a student under 18 years of age at his former school in San Diego."
Sammartino is on administrative leave during the investigation, the school said.
The Harker School said the charges weren't filed until last week, weeks after it completed a background check on Sammartino
Sammartino taught upper-level social science courses in LJCDS's Upper School (high school) from 2012 to 2016. He also lectured at UCSD, according to his staff bio on The Harker School's website.
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LJCDS says it was notified of the incident Wednesday through the school's background check system and the incident was later confirmed by police.
Police have not confirmed if Sammartino’s alleged victim or victims are current or former students of LJCDS and it is unknown exactly when and where the alleged crimes were reported.
SDPD is investigating the case.
