NATIONAL CITY, Calif. (KGTV) — An advocate who pushes for stronger legislation to protect children from being abused by educators says she isn’t surprised a teacher of the year was arrested after allegedly having an inappropriate relationship with a student.
Some parents were left stunned Tuesday when National City Police announced they had arrested Jacqueline Ma, 34, at Lincoln Acres Elementary School.
Ma is known as an outstanding teacher and was booked on six felony counts of sexual misconduct with a child under the age of 14.
Last year, she was one of five educators to be named Teacher of the Year in San Diego.
“It’s not surprising,” said Terri Miller, President of Stop Educator Sexual Abuse Misconduct and Exploitation.
“It’s very common for teachers that are offending students to be award-winning teachers. That comes from research.”
Miller has spent over two decades researching teachers who abuse their students and advocates for tougher laws that keep educators accountable.
She commends the mother of the 13-year-old child who contacted National City Police with concerns the child was having an inappropriate possible relationship with a former teacher.
Police did not reveal the gender of the child who was allegedly victimized by Ma. That’s information Miller would like to know.
“If it is a male child their suffering is exasperated and research shows that when a male student is offended by an adult female, especially a female in a position of trust. It is very difficult for that boy to come forward,” Miller said.
She said parents need to watch out for warning signs. She said if a child ever goes from loving a teacher to hating them and not wanting to go to school, that’s a red flag.
“Something has changed in that relationship and the parents need to find out what that is.”
She said another red flag is when an educator spends a lot of time with certain students outside of the classroom.
Picking up his two kids from Lincoln Acres Elementary School Wednesday afternoon, parent Abraham Ramirez, said the news is unsettling.
“It’s a concern for us parents because we trust our community especially teachers to take care of them and when things like this happen, it gets you to think that the world is not a safe place.”
Ma was booked into Las Colinas Women’s Detention Facility and released on a bond of $100,000. Her arraignment is set for March 14.
