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Justin Verducci, 25, was arrested in front of his Irvine home, according to the Orange County Sheriff’s Department.
Sheriff’s officials said the student’s parents discovered inappropriate text messages on their daughter’s cell phone and contacted authorities. The messages were “sexual in nature,” according to the sheriff’s department.
The girl is a student a Capistrano Valley High School in Mission Viejo, where Verducci teaches.
Verducci was arrested on suspicion of child annoyance and sexual communication with a known minor. He is being held in lieu of $20,000 bail, and is tentatively scheduled to appear in court tomorrow, sheriff’s officials said. Verducci was placed on unpaid leave today when district officials were notified of the arrest, according to Ryan Burris, a spokesman for the Capistrano Unified School District.
Verducci was hired in August as a math teacher, Burris said.
School officials were notifying all of the students and their families. Counselors were being made available if necessary, Burris said.
— Wire reports