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Aug 21, 2007 4:15 pm US/Pacific
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Teacher Accused Of Sexual Misconduct With Students
LOS ANGELES (CBS) ―
A John Marshall High School teacher was behind bars Tuesday for alleged sexual misconduct with students, authorities said.
Fred Johnson, 60, was arrested Monday and booked on suspicion of lewd acts with a child, Los Angeles Police Officer Ana Aguirre said. Johnson was being held in lieu of $800,000 bail, according to the Sheriff's Department.
Authorities would not confirm if the case involved inappropriate photographs of special-education students between 14 and 19 years old.
Los Angeles Unified School District officials were not immediately available for comment on the arrest.
The LAUSD released a statement last week confirming the teacher was under investigation.
"Marshall High School and the district are cooperating with the Los Angeles Police Department's investigation of allegations of inappropriate conduct involving a Marshall High School teacher," the statement said. "Marshall High School and LAUSD take such allegations very seriously."
Johnson had been reassigned to a non-school site pending the outcome of the investigation, and a letter was sent home with students.
A television report stated that some suspicious photos were found by school employees, who notified police. A woman said that her autistic son, 17, saw the teacher taking pictures of "naked kids, his friends."
Another woman told the station that the photos showed students ages 14-19 posing with swim trunks and towels.
"They were just holding them up in the front, covering their private parts," the woman said. "They were naked."
She told the station another photo showed a school staffer kissing a 15-year-old female student on the lips.
(© 2007 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)