| For Immediate Release Case # 08CF2997
January 24, 2012 |
Susan Kang Schroeder Chief of Staff Office: 714-347-8408 Cell: 714-292-2718 Farrah Emami |
GARDEN GROVE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL TEACHER SENTENCED TO EIGHT YEARS FOR MOLESTING
6-YEAR-OLD STUDENT AND 12-YEAR-OLD GIRL
SANTA ANA – A Garden Grove elementary school teacher was sentenced yesterday to eight years in state prison and lifetime sex offender registration for molesting a 6-year-old student during class and a 12-year-old girl at a Santa Ana Walmart. Christopher Micah Brazelton, 36, Irvine, was found guilty by a jury Oct. 20, 2011, of two counts of lewd acts with a child under 14. The jury found true the sentencing enhancement allegations for lewd acts involving multiple children and substantial sexual conduct with a child.
Jane Doe #1
Shortly before 9:00 p.m. on Oct. 1, 2008, Brazelton was shopping in the school supplies aisle of a Walmart, located on McFadden Avenue in Santa Ana, when he encountered 12-year-old Jane Doe #1 walking in the opposite direction down the same aisle. As Brazelton passed her, he leaned over and grabbed Jane Doe #1’s buttocks and fled. Witnesses were able to detain him and alerted Walmart security.
During the investigation, detectives learned that Brazelton was a teacher at Woodbury Elementary School in Garden Grove. After the school was notified of the initial incident involving Jane Doe #1 at Walmart, five more victims came forward.
Jane Doe’s #2, #3 and #4 came forward after hearing that Brazelton, their former teacher, was arrested for touching a girl’s buttocks at Walmart. After discussing it with each other, the three girls decided that the touching they experienced two years prior was probably not appropriate and alerted the principal.
In the cases of Jane Doe #5 and #6, the parents found out their daughters were assaulted by Brazelton when they inquired about whether or not he had ever touched the girls inappropriately. The parents alerted police.
Jane Doe #2, #3, #4, #5 and #6
The five Jane Does, who ranged in age from 6 years old to 11 years old at the time of the assaults, testified at trial to the following: Brazelton molested them while they were his students at Woodbury Elementary School between 2006 and 2008. Brazelton repeatedly rubbed the girls’ upper thighs and vaginal area over their clothes during class time. The inappropriate touching was not readily visible to others since it was often done underneath the table while Brazelton kneeled or sat next to the girls. In one of the incidents, Brazelton molested one of the victims while they were alone in a classroom and the rest of the class was at recess.
The jury found Brazelton guilty in the cases of Jane Doe #1 and Jane Doe #5. The jury was hung on the remaining four counts involving the other students, and the People dismissed the charges.