A Sylmar man who taught at an exclusive private school in Calabasas was charged Friday with possessing of child sexual abuse material, along with annoying or molesting four female students who were allegedly secretly photographed.
Travis Takeshi Shojinaga, 39, pleaded not guilty to the five criminal charges and was ordered to remain jailed in lieu of $1 million bail, despite the prosecution’s request that he be held without bail, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office.
Court records indicate he is facing one felony count and four misdemeanor counts.
Shojinaga — who taught at Viewpoint School for 10 years — allegedly took secret and intimate photographs of at least four students, according to the District Attorney’s Office.
He was arrested Wednesday on campus after an 11-year-old student reported that he was secretly taking inappropriate photographs of female students, according to the District Attorney’s Office.
Shojinaga has remained behind bars since then, according to jail records.
The school, with tuition costing around $50,000 per year, issued a statement Thursday to its community.
“Yesterday we learned of troubling allegations against a faculty member. We immediately launched an investigation and notified the Los Angeles County Sheriff Department’s Lost Hills Station. The employee was subsequently taken into custody, and his employment has been terminated.”
School officials said they are “working closely and cooperating with law enforcement as they investigate the matter,” but added that the allegations do not involve physical contact.
In a statement announcing the charges, District Attorney Nathan Hochman said, “The accusations in this case are disgusting and deliberate violations of children’s safety, dignity and rights. Our community’s schools are meant to be safe and protected environments for youths.”
The District Attorney’s Office added that authorities “believe there may be more victims and encourage anyone with information to call law enforcement.”
Anyone who may have been an alleged victim or has additional information about Shojinaga was being urged to call Sgt. Joe Cerda at the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department’s Special Victims Bureau at 562-946-8216.
Anyone wishing to remain anonymous can call LA Regional Crime Stoppers at (800) 222-TIPS (8477) or visit www.lacrimestoppers.org.
Shojinaga is due back in a Van Nuys courtroom March 12, when a date is scheduled to be set for a hearing to determine if there is enough evidence to allow the case against him to proceed to trial.
If convicted as charged, Shojinaga faces a maximum of seven years in state prison and sex offender registration for life, according to the District Attorney’s Office.