Teacher's aide suspected of molesting 2 boys at San Jose middle school
Suspect Junior Labsan Bitao
SAN JOSE, Calif. (BCN/KTVU) - A teacher's aide at a South San Jose middle school was arrested last week for allegedly molesting two teenage boys in April and May, police said Wednesday.
Sylvandale Middle School first received reports on May 30 that 44-year-old Junior Labsan Bitao may have acted inappropriately with a 13-year-old and 15-year-old boy between April 17 and May 1 at the school, according to the Franklin-McKinley School District.
The school then contacted police, who conducted an investigation before obtaining a misdemeanor arrest warrant for Bitao on June 6.
He was arrested at his San Jose home and booked into Santa Clara County Jail on suspicion of annoying or molesting a child under 18 years old and touching a person intimately against their will for sexual arousal.
"We have been working collaboratively with SJPD to ensure the safety and security of our students and were asked to keep this information confidential as to not jeopardize the investigation," Yelitza Pena, community relations director for the school district, said in a statement.
"We thank the San Jose Police Department for working diligently on this matter. Child safety is always our number one priority," she added.
Police ask that anyone with further information about Bitao contact Detective Christopher McTiernan at (408) 537-1397, or an anonymous tip line at (408) 947-7867.