A teacher's assistant was sentenced to six months in jail this week for stealing lunch money from a disabled student at Camarillo High School.
Kristen Rene Santoyo, 37, was also given four years probation during a hearing Tuesday before Ventura County Superior Court Judge James Cloninger. In addition, Santoyo was ordered to pay $285 restitution to the student and to attend at least one year of weekly child abuse counseling sessions.
The victim, a 14-year-old high school freshman who suffers from severe autism and cannot speak, was sent to school with a lunch box that had snacks and $5 to purchase a cafeteria meal, prosecutors said. After she came home from school hungry and went straight to the refrigerator multiple times, her parents grew suspicious and contacted the school principal and teacher.
But wait. At least Kristen had a good excuse:
Defense attorney James Harmon argued that Santoyo suffered from a drug abuse problem that resulted in bad judgment.
School officials said Santoyo, who worked for the district for about 12 years, was fingerprinted and underwent a background check before she was hired in 1996.
So basically nobody at Camarillo High School was watching Santoyo perform her duties where her judgment was so bad that she would steal from an autistic student?
Then there's this:
The coach of a North County traveling girls softball team has been arrested on suspicion of having sex with a 17-year-old player.
Christopher Facione of Carlsbad is charged with two felony counts of unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor. Facione is scheduled to be arraigned Thursday in Superior Court.
Facione, 37, is the founder of The Next Level Athletics, an Encinitas-based sports organization for athletes 6 and up. In addition to the girls softball team, the organization has offered clinics and camps in other sports such as football and basketball.
On Jan. 18, the declaration says, Facione spoke with the player, whose doctor thought she might have contracted a sexually transmitted disease. Facione assured her that he routinely gets tested, the declaration says.
Oh. That must have been reassuring. Of course it's kind of sad that with a dirtbag like him coaching, that the players are the ones who should be tested. But check this out...after giving her an ejaculatory germ:
Facione sent the girl text messages, including one saying he missed her and asking her out to dinner, according to the declaration.
As my three or four readers probably know by now, I coach high school girls basketball. I went through an extremely rigorous background check. It's creeps like these two that make my job more difficult...and worse, gives parents cause and pause to consider everyone who works with their children.
