A former elementary school "teacher of the year" who was accused of grooming two boys has pleaded guilty to sex crime charges, the San Diego County District Attorney's Office said Wednesday.
Jacqueline Ma, a former teacher at Lincoln Acres Elementary School who, in 2022, was named the county's highest teacher award, admitted to four sexual misconduct charges including sexual intercourse with a minor and possession of obscene materials involving a minor.
Ma could face 30 years to life in prison when she is sentenced on May 9, a substantially shorter sentence than the 165 years to life she could have spent in state prison if convicted of all 19 felony charges. The change of plea on Wednesday also avoided a trial.
Later in the dau. Leighangela Brady, the superintendent of the National School District, sent out a statement to families regarding Ma's guilty plea.
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"Two years ago, when we learned of the allegations of inappropriate physical activity between this former educator and a minor, we were stunned to our core," Brady wrote, in part. "Although she was immediately placed on unpaid status and has been detained ever since, I want to assure our school community that with this guilty plea, we are now able to formally move to terminate her employment with the district."
The South Bay educator was first arrested in March 2023 after a concerned parent suspected her child was possibly having an inappropriate relationship with his former teacher. She was released on bail but quickly re-arrested after evidence of child pornography came to light, according to prosecutors. She has been held without bail ever since.
National City police Detective Colleen Stanich, the lead detective on the case, testified during a preliminary hearing that in March, John Doe 1's mother told police she found messages on a tablet between her son and Ma, in which Ma directed the boy to delete some of the messages or to communicate with her in "vanish mode" so the messages would eventually disappear.
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The detective said she later spoke with Ma about her connection to the boy and Ma allegedly told her, "It's complicated and I may have blurred the lines."
A subsequent search of Ma's cell phone turned up numerous text messages within a hidden application.
Many of those messages were read in court and described sex acts between Ma and the boy, while others included explicit photographs of John Doe 1, Stanich testified. In other messages, Ma described being in love with John Doe 1 and being saddened that their relationship would not last and he would eventually start dating girls his own age.
Ma was initially charged solely in connection with John Doe 1, but in July, prosecutors added additional charges regarding a second boy, referred to as John Doe 2.
At the preliminary hearing, prosecutors alleged Ma exchanged a series of sexually charged text messages with John Doe 2 starting when he was 11.
John Doe 2 allegedly told police that he and Ma had devised a "plan" for him to meet with her in her classroom, Stanich testified. When he entered the classroom, Ma allegedly took off her shirt and "tried to get close to him," but the boy left the classroom because he was afraid, the detective said.
Stanich testified that Ma groomed both boys by buying them gifts, including clothes and gaming-related items.
