Teacher at UCLA child-care center arrested on suspicion of child sex abuse

A teacher at one of UCLA’s child-care centers was arrested and booked on suspicion of sexual abuse of a child, the school told parents Wednesday.

Christopher Rodriguez was arrested by the UCLA Police Department after other staff members reported seeing “concerning behavior” and that he’d had “inappropriate contact with a minor student,” according to the university.

Rodriguez worked for the university’s Early Care and Education Department, which provides child care and other services for the young children of UCLA students, faculty and staff.

Rodriguez was booked on five misdemeanor charges: single counts of false imprisonment, battery and willful cruelty to a child and two counts of sexual battery, said Christina Christie, dean of the UCLA School of Education and Information Studies.

While it was not clear exactly what led to Rodriguez’s arrest, UCLA said that he was put on administrative leave after he was reported by his colleagues, and that he had not been back to the Early Care and Education Department since.

Rodriguez was a longtime employee of the department, having worked at the university’s Krieger Center from 1999 to 2001, then at the University Village Early Care and Education Center until 2020, when he returned to the Krieger Center until he was put on leave.

UCLA said Rodriguez had been on leave since Dec. 18, when the investigation into him was opened. It was not clear what date Rodriguez was arrested, or whether prosecutors have formally filed charges against him.

The school said it has provided a team of child psychologists for the children in its care, has changed the gate codes at the centers and is giving staff members refresher workshops about their legal duty to report suspected abuse or neglect.

“While we value and honor our commitment to an open and honest community, the sensitive nature of this situation limits what we are able to share with you,” the university wrote in the message to parents. “We also appreciate your respect for the privacy of the individuals involved.”

In a statement to The Times, UCLA called the allegations “deeply concerning.”

“Assault or sexual harassment of any kind is reprehensible and intolerable. Our top priority is the well-being and safety of the children in our care,” the university said.

Parents with children in Rodriguez’s class expressed frustration with UCLA during a Zoom meeting on Thursday, demanding answers about the investigation into Rodriguez and whether there were additional victims. But answers were not given, said one parent whose child was in Rodriguez’s class last year.

“There was basically just a lot of anger,” said the mother, who asked to speak anonymously to protect her child’s identity. “Parents asked, ‘When was the complaint initially made? Why were people not notified?’ It was just a lot of circling. A lot of avoiding.”

Based on her child’s time in Rodriguez’s class, she said that while she felt that Rodriguez was sometimes neglectful of the children, she was shocked by the allegations against him.

“We did not have any concerns about him committing any act of violence when he was a teacher,” she said.

UCLA’s program has faced outraged parents before. In 2016, parents demanded that the university conduct an investigation and place the program’s then-director on administrative leave over allegations that she had abruptly transferred teachers from classroom to classroom without considering the effect on children.

The same year, UCLA student newspaper the Daily Bruin also wrote about a report of complaints that Early Care and Education staff members had grabbed children and left them unattended.