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View Winners → Trial postponed for Alhambra teacher accused or sexual misconduct
Arcadia Weekly Jun 05, 2014
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By SHEL SEGAL
A judge on Monday postponed a preliminary trial for an Alhambra Unified School District teacher, according to a published report.
That teacher – 43-year-old Jeffrey Hideki Yoshitake – worked at Garfield Elementary School and is accused of “having a seven-year sexual relationship with a former student,” according to that report.
Yoshitake was placed by the district on administrative leave on Feb. 28. His alleged victim went to the Monterey Park Police Department a day earlier with police officials letting the district know about the case the next day, according to that report.
Yoshitake’s attorney Bill Seki asked Judge Don Umhofer for a postponement until June 30 as “there was a lot of investigation still needed,” according to that report.
Yoshitake was released after posting a $100,000 bond and pleaded not guilty on May 5 to “five counts of lewd acts upon a child who was 15,” according to that report.
Yoshitake was the girl’s math teacher with the two beginning to correspond. However, the alleged sexual relationship begin in April 2005 when she was a high school student, according to that report.
In addition, “the alleged sexual abuse appears to be isolated to a single student,” according to that report.
Yoshitake’s tenure with the district began in September 1996 when he was hired as a substitute teacher. In 1999, he started as a regular teacher, teaching to fifth and sixth graders at Garfield, according to that report.
He was tenured at Garfield in October 2002 and taught fifth, sixth and seventh graders, according to that report.
Yoshitake is not the lone district employee accused of child molestation this school year as sheriff’s deputies in Riverside County arrested Andrea Michelle Cardosa on Feb. 3, according to that report.
Cardosa is a former assistant principal at Alhambra High School and she resigned on Jan. 17 just “hours after the release of a seemingly incriminating viral YouTube video,” according to that report.
(Shel Segal can be reached at ssegal@beaconmedianews.com. He can be followed via Twitter @segallanded.)
