An instructional aide at two Chula Vista Elementary schools has been arrested for child molestation, and police are asking for any other potential victims to come forward.
Vincent M. Lopez, 46, of Otay Ranch, was arraigned on 10 felony counts of lewd and lascivious acts on children aged 14 and 15, and two misdemeanor counts of molestation. Investigators say the victims are not students, but rather a relative of Lopez, and that victim's friend.
Lopez was arrested on Sunday at 5:17 a.m. after a 911 call, according to Chula Vista police. The victims, according to investigators, had been molested dating back to late November or early December.
"They felt they were going to be molested once again that time in the morning, and they didn't want anymore to do with it and subsequently called 911", said Glenn Isaaks of the Chula Vista Police Department's Family Protection Unit.
Lopez worked as a part-time instructional aide at two schools in the Chula Vista Elementary School District since last December. He worked at Halecrest and Tiffany Elementary but there is nothing to indicate any students were harmed, according to school officials. Lopez, who was working under a probationary period for the district, has been dismissed.
"We have heard no reports indicating that there has been anything improper with an elementary student or any other student in our district," said Anthony Millican, a spokesperson for the Chula Vista Elementary School District.
Millican said Lopez passed a drug and alcohol test, a Department of Justice screening, and complied with all background checks. In fact, Chula Vista Police say Lopez had no criminal record.
"There was nothing in his background that would have prevented his employment," said Millican.
According to Chula Vista Police, Lopez also worked at a company that imported vehicles. Police are asking for any other potential victims to come forward.
