A former Jordan High School teacher was charged with committing a lewd act on a 13-year-old girl in 2015, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office said Tuesday, May 19.
Mark Anthony Santo, 51, was accused of assaulting the teen, a family friend, at his home, prosecutors said. He was arrested at his Cypress residence on Monday morning by Long Beach police, records show.
Santo, held on $100,000 bail, pleaded not guilty Tuesday. If convicted, he faces up to eight years in prison, prosecutors said.
Santo resigned as a teacher at the Long Beach school two years ago and the school district was unable to comment on his personnel files, said Chris Eftychiou, a district spokesman. Santo started as a teacher at Lindbergh Middle School from 2003 to 2013, Poly High School in 2014, and Jordan High School in 2015 until his resignation in 2018.
While at Jordan High School, Santo taught government and history classes, according to the school’s website.
