Arrest Of School Janitor For Lewd Acts With Child Has Parents Horrified

HESPERIA (CBSLA) -- The arrest of an elementary school janitor for lewd acts with a 6-year-old boy has parents in Hesperia horrified and angry.

On Wednesday, authorities arrested 45-year-old Pedro Martinez, a longtime janitor at Maple Elementary School.

KCAL9's Cristy Fajardo spoke to parents. Some knew of the arrest but some did not.

"I was horrified," said Sabrina Hull, "I still haven't heard anything from the school."

She told Fajardo that she learned of the arrest on social media.

"The teachers they all seem to watch them [the students] pretty well," she said, "I don't know how the guy got a kid alone."

On Tuesday, deputies and detectives at the Hesperia Sheriff's Station received information that Martinez allegedly molested a boy who attended the school.

When school let out on Thursday, David Olney, the school superintendent,  was there as well as the school police chief. Parents also were notified about the incident by email. Olney said Martinez had passed an extensive background check.

Fajardo said that detectives working the case were "pretty tight-lipped" but they did tell her they found corroborating evidence to back up the alleged victim's accusations.

Martinez was arrested Wednesday and booked at Central Detention Center in San Bernardino. He is being accused of lewd acts with a child, oral copulation, kidnapping and sodomy.

The suspect has been a janitor at the elementary school since 2005.

Detectives believe there are possibly more victims, an idea that left Jose Guevara worried about his two grandchildren who attend the school.

In Spanish, he told Fajardo the school needs to be careful with the kids and there should always be supervisors near the bathrooms.

Olney said detectives have not shared with him what happened or where it occurred but he reiterated that the safety of the children was the district's top priority.

"We do not know the facts of the case," said Olney, "that has not been shared with us by the Sheriff's department. So, we will address some of those issues when we know the facts of the case."

Martinez is being held on $1 million bail.

Anyone with information is asked to call detectives at the Hesperia Sheriff's Station (909) 387-3615, Callers wishing to remain anonymous can call the We-Tip Hotline at 1-800-78-CRIME (27463).