Former Santa Ana College instructor arrested in Hemet, charged with lewd acts on minor

A former welding instructor at Santa Ana College has been arrested and charged with molesting a 15-year-old who was taking his class, authorities said Wednesday.

George Moreno, 59, of Cherry Valley was arrested Tuesday, Jan. 7 at Alessandro High School in Hemet where he was employed again as a welding instructor, according to the Orange County District Attorney’s Office.

Moreno was charged with felony counts of lewd and lascivious acts with a 15-year-old child. He was released from jail on Wednesday, Jan. 8 after posting $50,000 bail, prosecutors said.

The District Attorney’s office said Moreno was an instructor at Santa Ana College from 2007 to 2018. Some of the students enrolled in his class were from Santa Ana Middle College High School, which is also part of the Santa Ana Unified School District, authorities said.

The arrest came years after the alleged crimes began, prosecutors said. In August 2019, a woman reported to Santa Ana police that she had been sexually molested by Moreno for more than three years beginning in 2015. The victim claimed the numerous incidents happened on campus.

Riverside County Office of Education officials said Moreno – who was hired Feb. 26, 2019 – had been put on administrative leave.

“Both (the Riverside County Office of Education) and the (Hemet Unified) school district are fully cooperating with law enforcement and take all allegations of staff misconduct very seriously,” the office said in a statement.

He faces a maximum sentence of five years if convicted.

“Teachers are entrusted with our most precious resource – our children,” Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer said in a statement. “Classrooms should be safe place where children can learn – not hunting grounds for predators.”

Anyone with more information is asked to contact Santa Ana Police Detective Gerry Corona at 714-245-8343 or Orange County Crime Stoppers at 1-855-TIP-OCCS.