Ex-OC Teacher, Softball Coach Arrested In Child Porn Probe
SANTA ANA (CBSLA.com) — A former Santa Ana teacher was in police custody following his arrest on suspicion of child molestation, authorities said Thursday.
Robert Ruben Ornelas, 62, was arrested on Tuesday after members of the Orange County Child Exploitation Task Force executed a search warrant at his residence on the 13000 block of Prospect in the unincorporated area of Santa Ana, according to the Orange County Sheriff's Department.
The search was executed in response to information received by task force members indicating that Ornelas may be in possession of child pornography, authorities said.
Upon service of the search warrant, members of the task force discovered thousands of pornographic images as well as evidence that suggests there may be several additional victims of molestation – some that may date back to the 1980s, Sheriff's deputies said.
Ornelas was arrested following the search and is currently being held at the Orange County jail on $1,000,000 bail.
Ornelas was employed as a teacher with the Santa Ana School District from 1992 to 2003. During the same time period, Ornelas coached a local girls softball team.
He also worked in an unlicensed day care facility run by his mother in the 1980s and early 1990s.
Anyone with information about additional victims who may exist, or with information they believe may assist the task force with this investigation is asked to contact the Orange County Sheriff's Department at (714) 647-7000 or the FBI's Orange County Office at (714) 939-8699.
