El Segundo Teacher Accused Of Sexually Assaulting Male Students

EL SEGUNDO (CBSLA.com) — An El Segundo elementary school teacher on Thursday faced charges of assaulting two male students.

KNX 1070's Margaret Carrero reports investigators suspect that even more allegations may be brought against 27-year-old Jeffrey Simonek.

An anonymous report filed with the Department of Children and Family Services alleging the sexual assault of two male juveniles first launched the investigation, which found two students were assaulted last school year in a classroom while attending Center Street School in El Segundo, according to authorities.

Simonek, a fifth-grade teacher who was placed on administrative leave during the investigation, was served with a warrant on Wednesday night for his arrest.

He was charged with committing lewd acts on a child under 14 years of age. He is being held on $300,000 bail.

From 2005 to 2011, Simonek worked as a camp counselor for boys ages 6 to 11 at a summer camp in the Lake Tahoe area - a fact that troubled El Segundo Police Lt. Raymond Garcia.

"He's invited on family trips, he babysits, he does all the things with families, and what they all have in common is that they all have boys that are of a particular age," said Garcia.

Simonek has also volunteered with various youth organizations in Los Angeles and Orange counties, which placed him in direct contact with young boys, according to Garcia, who said Simonek sought these volunteer and counselor positions which allowed him to interact with boys he could potentially victimize.

Anyone with information or allegations of similar crimes committed by Jeffrey Simonek is asked to contact Detective Jeff Humphrey at (310) 524-2284 or by email at jhumphrey@elsegundo.org.