Police believe there may be more victims
PUBLIC SAFETY FACILITY A Lincoln Middle School teacher was being held on $1.1 million bail Sunday for allegedly sexually molesting four female students, authorities said.
Thomas Arthur Beltran, 60, was arrested on Saturday in the 6100 block of Centinela Avenue in Culver City and booked at the Santa Monica city jail for performing lewd and lascivious acts on children under the age of 14, Santa Monica Police Department’s Lt. Alex Padilla said during a news conference Sunday outside the Public Safety Facility.
Investigators believe that in at least one case, the alleged molestation took place for a year.
“We are still trying to interview kids to see when and where these incidents occurred,” Padilla said.
Officers were alerted on Friday, May 2 by the parents of a 12-year-old girl who was a student of Beltran’s. The girl told investigators that the abuse occurred during the school year in his classroom at Lincoln.
Beltran, who taught at the school for 20 years and has been employed by the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District for the last 30 years, specialized in teaching English as a second language. On the Lincoln Middle School Web site it lists Beltran as working in the Humanities Department.
A substitute teacher will be assigned to cover Beltran’s classes while the investigation continues.
SMMUSD Superintendent Dianne Talarico said crisis counselors, both internal and external, will be made available at Lincoln to provide support to students, their families and faculty.
The district’s administrative team met with school officials and members of the PTA on Sunday afternoon to formulate a response plan,which will include an adults-only meeting with school officials and parents to discuss the situation tonight at 7 p.m. on the Lincoln campus. Talarico added that a statement would be made to students sometime during the school day, but wasn’t sure of the specifics as of press time.
District and school officials have decided to proceed with plans to administer state assessment tests that were previously scheduled to take place.
“I just feel awful,” Talarico said. “I know these are allegations at this point, but my heart and my thoughts and prayers are with the families and the children at this time.”
The district is fully cooperating with detectives, she said.
School board President Oscar del la Torre said he too is concerned about the well being of the students and the entire Lincoln Middle School family.
“This is our number one concern right now, because [Beltran] has been an employee for many years we want to see if there are any other victims,” de la Torre said. “Because a lot of students (speak English as a second language), I just hope that they feel comfortable in coming forward and trusting the system.”
De la Torre, who said the investigation is the district’s top priority, fears that if there are other alleged victims that they will not come forward because of their parents’ immigration status.
“I hope that doesn’t interfere with getting to the bottom of what actually occurred,” de la Torre said.
The investigation is ongoing and those with information are urged to contact the SMPD at (310) 458-8491. Anyone wishing to remain anonymous may call the SMPD tip line at (310) 458-8449 or the We Tip hotline at (800) 782-7463.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on May 5, 2008. Read the original PDF.