San Bernardino County Teacher Arrested For Inappropriate Photos Of Students

ORO GRANDE (CBSLA) – A middle school teacher in the San Bernardino County community of Oro Grande was arrested Friday on allegations he took inappropriate photographs of female students in his class, and investigators believe he may have more victims.

Twenty-seven-year-old John Martin Sheldon, a teacher at Riverside Preparatory Middle School, is accused of snapping inappropriate photos of two 13-year-old girls, the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department reports.

He was taken into custody on charges of annoying or molesting a child under 18 and invasion of privacy.

The investigation began Friday, when a student informed school officials that they had witnessed Sheldon taking photos of a female student under a classroom desk during school hours, the sheriff's department reports. School administrators then learned that Sheldon had taken similar photos back in February.

An Oro Grande School District spokesperson released the following statement: "OGSD was not made aware of any previous incident until after the sheriff's investigation. A student first reported it to an administrator [April 6], and we immediately reported it to authorities, as required. The February incident was not known of by us until the authorities investigated."

The school notified sheriff's detectives, who responded and began an investigation. After interviewing several students, Sheldon was arrested and booked into the High Desert Detention Center in Adelanto.

Sheldon's tenure at the school and the subject he taught was not immediately confirmed.

Detectives believe Sheldon may have more victims. Anyone with information should call detectives at 909-387-3615, or the We-Tip Hotline at 1-800-78-CRIME.

Riverside Preparatory is in the Oro Grande Unified School District.