A Los Angeles assistant principal was arrested Friday on suspicion of sexually abusing eight young children while working at a Santa Paula elementary school several years ago, authorities said.
According to the Ventura County District Attorney’s Office, David Lane Braff Jr., 42, of Thousand Oaks, was arrested in the office of McKevett Elementary School, where he worked as a counselor from 2015 to 2019, when he was 6 to 10 years old. He has been accused of sexually abusing eight students aged 15 and over. At the time of his arrest, Braff was an assistant principal and school counselor at Ingenium Charter Middle School in Winnetka, prosecutors said.
David Lane Braff Jr., 42, of Thousand Oaks was arrested Friday.
(Ventura County District Attorney’s Office)
He is charged with 17 felony counts of lewd acts on a child under 14 and will be arraigned Monday in Ventura County Superior Court, prosecutors announced.
He is being held in the Ventura County Jail on $3 million bail, prosecutors said.
“The defendant is alleged to have sexually abused multiple elementary school students over a period of years, destroying the trust of parents, educators, and the public,” the Ventura County District said in a statement. Atty. Eric Nasarenko said in a statement. “We will vigorously prosecute this case and encourage additional victims and others who may have information about the crime to come forward.”
The District Attorney’s Office and Santa Paula Police Department began an investigation into Bluff last month, and that effort continues. Prosecutors believe Braff may have worked at other schools in Southern California and volunteered with youth groups.
Anyone who believes they may have been victimized or who witnessed suspicious activity, regardless of whether the incident occurred in Ventura County, should contact Greg Webb, an investigator with the Ventura County District Attorney’s Office, at :805) 477-1627.
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