Prosecutors in a North County courtroom on Tuesday hit a 31-year-old Escondido High School teacher accused of sex with students with a criminal case charging 26 separate counts.
Ky Iri Tisdale was arrested Friday on the North County campus, where he was preparing his classroom for the upcoming year. He is accused of sexual misconduct with two students, the Escondido Police Department said Monday.
”The charges that we have filed based on the investigation from EPD is 26 different counts," Deputy District Attorney Peter Estes told NBC 7. "They involve different specific sexual acts but, basically, they all involve specific acts with a minor.”
Asked if he anticipated adding more charges, Estes told NBC 7 that he was unable to comment since the investigation was ongoing.
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Tisdale's alleged victims are a female former student who is currently 19 years old and a male who is now a year younger. All of the charges except one are crimes involving the female victim, who was a minor at the time. Prosecutors believe the sexual activity with her began on June 1, 2022, and continued every month through April of the following year, taking place for the last time on April 30, 2023. The charge involving a second victim took place between June 2022 and May 31, 2023.
Estes said that being a teacher "is a potential aggravating factor that might be alleged in order to get to a [lengthier sentence], and it's something we’ll take into account when we consult with victims and their families about what the potential plea bargain might be.”
"It is something that we obviously take very seriously across the board," Estes said.
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Tisdale, who is still being held on $250,000 bail, was ordered by the judge to stay away from the alleged victims, their homes, schools, and places of employment, and was forbidden from any contact with them and attempting to dissuade witnesses from testifying.
If convicted on all charges, according to the district attorney's office, Tisdale's exposure is up to 19 years, 8 months in prison.
The investigation
Last month, the EPD received a report of sexual misconduct and Tisdale, an Escondido resident, was picked up after detectives with the Escondido Police Family Protection Unit conducted an investigation, the EPD said in a statement.
Lt. Ryan Hicks with the EPD said on Monday that Tisdale was arrested in his classroom Friday because EPD wanted him in custody before Tuesday, the first day of classes in the Escondido Union High School District.
Also on Friday, detectives executed a search warrant at Tisdale's residence in Escondido to search for additional evidence. Police say they took Tisdale's phone and computer.
The victim involved in the current case against Tisdale is the 19-year-old woman, police said. The case they are still investigating involves the teenage male according to Hicks, who added that charges have not yet been filed for the latter case.
Tisdale was booked at the San Diego County Sheriff's Department Vista Detention Facility for suspicion of oral copulation with a minor and unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor, the EPD statement said. Those are both felony counts.
NBC 7 reached out to Rita Alatorre, the community relations officer with the EUHSD, who confirmed Tisdale is a math teacher at EHS and was hired in August 2019. According to the district, Tisdale was placed on administrative leave after his arrest pending a legal outcome in the case.
Later in the day, Alatorre shared a statement from the district's superintendent, Jon Peterson, which read, in part: “It is tremendously distressing that we begin the school year tomorrow with this disturbing news. Upon learning of the arrest, we immediately took appropriate action to address this matter.”
Anyone with information regarding this case was asked to call the EPD at 760-839-4722 or Det. Jesse Santaniello at 760-839-4768 (reference Case No. 24007013).
Tisdale is due back in court on Aug. 21 for a readiness conference.
