Crime & Safety
Former Teacher at Los Al High Arrested on Suspicion of Sex with Girl, 15
Abdel Chehade, 43, was arrested yesterday on suspicion of engaging in a sexual relationship with a teenage girl. Police are looking into the possibility that there may be other victims.
A former teacher at Los Alamitos High School was arrested Thursday on suspicion of having sex with a 15-year-old girl, authorities say.
Abdel Chehade, a 43-year-old Huntington Beach man, was taken into custody near his home Thursday, according to the Los Alamitos Police Department.
Chehade had been a North Orange County Regional Occupation Program teacher, who had been assigned to the school in late 2012. School officials would not say whether the alleged victim was a Los Alamitos High School student.
Find out what's happening in Los Alamitos-Seal Beachwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
According to Tina Dingillo, administrative assistant to the superintendent, district personnel received an anonymous tip late in the day Oct. 3 alleging a relationship between Chehade and a female student. On Oct. 4 the district began their investigation and contacted the Los Alamitos Police Department.
Dingillo said Chehade first started work on campus Sept. 11 2012 and has not been on campus since Oct. 4 2012.
Find out what's happening in Los Alamitos-Seal Beachwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
After school officials passed on the tip, Los Al police began their investigation. Police detectives discovered a relationship between Chehade and the girl but were unable to determine whether the relationship included sexual acts, according to a written release by department spokesman Capt. Bruce McAlpine.
However, the investigation remained open, and in March of this year, the girl confided to police detectives that she and Chehade had engaged in unlawful sex acts, according to McAlpine.
Officers believe the sexual relationship between Chehade and the girl began in May 2012 and ended in October.
After an Orange County Superior Court issued a warrant for his arrest, Chehade was taken into custody Thursday and booked into Orange County Jail in Santa Ana. Bail was set at $100,000.
The Los Alamitos Police Department will not release a photo of Chehade, but Orange County Jail records describe Chehade as 5 feet 11 inches tall weighing 205 pounds with brown hair and green eyes.
The investigation remains ongoing and police are looking into the possibility there may be more victims.
According to school officials, Chehade was not employed by the Los Alamitos Unified School District when he worked at the school. Rather, the North Orange County Regional Occupation Program assigned him to the school.
“He has not nor has he ever been a district employee,” said Dingillo.
According to Dingillo, the school district will continue to fully cooperate with investigators.
“The safety and well-being of our students remains our no. 1 priority and we will continue to do everything possible to make sure they thrive under our care," Dingillo said.
If anyone has additional information, they are encouraged to Contact the Los Alamitos Police Department Detective Bureau at (562) 431-2255, x 405.
Stay Patched in! Check out some of Los Alamitos, Rossmoor and Seal Beach's other top stories here. | Like Los Alamitos Patch on Facebook | Follow us on Twitter and sign up for the daily email with links to the latest local news.
