Yesterday, a 42 year old history teacher at Oxford Academy, one of the top high schools in the nation, pleaded not guilty to charges that he engaged in sexual activity with one of his underage students. The teacher, Christopher John Ontiveros, of Huntington Beach, was arrested last October and is out on $100,000 bail. He faces up to 6 years in prison if convicted on all charges.

Ontiveros is charged by the Orange County District Attorney with “three felony counts of sexual penetration by foreign object of a minor, one felony count of oral copulation of a minor, one felony count of distributing harmful sexual material to a minor, one felony count of contacting a child with intent to commit sexual penetration, and one misdemeanor count of sexual battery.” He is scheduled for a pre-trial hearing Feb. 11, 2010, at 9:00 a.m. in Department W-14, West Justice Center, Westminster.

Ontiveros was arrested on October 20, 2009 and has been out on bail since then. Oxford Academy is located in Cypress and is part of the Anaheim Union School District. According to Pat Karlak, spokesperson for the district, Ontiveros was placed on paid leave at the time of his arrest, but with yesterday’s arraignment, he will automatically be transferred to an unpaid status. He will continue on unpaid leave until resolution of the case.

Oxford Academy is not just any ordinary public high school. While all students are required to live within the boundaries of the Anaheim Union School District, living in the right place does not guaranty admission to Oxford. Even though it is a public high school, they do not take all comers. It is one of a few public high schools in California where students must be tested to gain admission. Not only must perspective students pass the admissions test, but Oxford does not accept new students after grade 9. The school includes students from grades 7 through 12, but it only accepts new students in grades 7-9.

Why all this exclusivity?
Oxford ranks in the top of all high schools both nationally and within California. Their scores on the standardized California tests, the college admissions test, such as the SAT, and their college acceptance rates all are among the best in the nation. One might imagine this all creates a bit of pressure on the Oxford students.

According to the statement from the district attorney’s office, Ontiveros was “Engaging in illegal sexual acts with a 17-year-old female high school student whom he met through work.” Ontiveros is not charged with “forcible sex crimes”, but the DA’s statement says he was “abusing his position of trust by developing a personal relationship with Jane Doe and making unsolicited sexual advances toward the student.”

When asked if the sex was consensual, Farrah Emami, spokeswoman for the Orange County District Attorney’s Office said “It’s a crime to engage in sexual activity with a minor whether they agreed to it or not.”

In some states, such as Georgia, the age of consent is 16, so it happens that there are sexual relations between high school students and their teachers which are not explicitly illegal. There are currently at least two cases in Georgia where this is working through the courts. In fact, one case was recently thrown out of court because even though generally considered to be inappropriate, the student/teacher relationship was not illegal.

The DA’s statement said “On several occasions between June to September 2009, the defendant is accused of sending the victim numerous sexual text messages and engaging in illegal digital penetration and oral copulation with the victim in the defendant's classroom and his car. Jane Doe's mother discovered the texts on her daughter's cell phone and contacted the police.”

Even if the victim willingly engaged in the relationship with Ontiveros, it could have resulted from academic pressure at Oxford. Of course no one would suggest this on the record. But, given the academic environment at the school, the lack of “forcible sex crimes charges, and the fact that the victim was not the one who reported the relationship, it is plausible that academic pressure was involved. Or, a 17 year old girl could have been seduced by a 42 year old man.

OC180NEWS.com contacted the office of Ontiveros’ attorney, but he did not return our calls.