Ceres teacher arrested for inappropriate sexual relationship with student
A Ceres Unified School District teacher was arrested and charged Friday for an alleged inappropriate sexual relationship with a minor high school student, police said.
Orlando Barba, 30, faces charges including annoying or molesting a child under 18 years old and lewd and lascivious acts with a child 14-15 years old when the suspect is over 10 years older than the victim.
The school district placed Barba on paid administrative leave Tuesday from his position at Mae Hensley Junior High School after learning of the police investigation, according to a district release.
Barba had worked for the district since 2015 and previously coached at Central Valley High School. According to MaxPreps, an online high school sports directory site, he coached girls junior varsity soccer.
He also was listed as a teacher in 2018-19 at Argus High, a continuation school in Ceres, according to a school handbook.
The district said its records show background and reference checks for Barba were properly conducted.
“CUSD has no higher priority than the safety and well-being of our students,” the release said.
Police said the district is fully cooperating with the investigation.
Anyone with more information can call Ceres police Detective Julio Amador at 209-538-5729.
Editor’s note: In a previous version of the story, The Bee reported Barba was fired. He has been put on paid administrative leave, according to the district.
This story was originally published March 26, 2021 at 6:03 PM.
