| For Immediate Release Case # 12CM01771 February 29, 2012 |
Susan Kang Schroeder Chief of Staff Office: 714-347-8408 Cell: 714-292-2718 Farrah Emami |
HIGH SCHOOL DANCE INSTRUCTOR ARRESTED AND CHARGED FOR SEXUALLY SUGGESTIVE TEXT MESSAGES AND COMMENTS TO 15-YEAR-OLD FEMALE STUDENT
SANTA ANA – A high school dance instructor was arrested today by Santa Ana Police Department (SAPD) officers on charges for sexually suggestive text messages and conversations with a 15-year-old female student. John Juul Nielson, 53, Cerritos, is charged with one misdemeanor count of child annoyance and faces a maximum sentence of one year in jail and lifetime sex offender registration if convicted. He is being held on $15,000 bail and is scheduled to be arraigned at a later date in Department CJ-1, Central Jail, Santa Ana.
Nielson is accused of grooming 15-year-old Jane Doe and gaining her trust while working as a dance instructor at Orange County High School of the Arts in Santa Ana. From Oct. 15, 2011 to Jan. 11, 2012, Nielson is accused of sending her sexual text messages and revealing information about his personal life, including details about his current and past relationships. He is also accused of engaging in multiple sexually inappropriate conversations, including asking her for an “exclusive” dating relationship.
School officials reported the case to SAPD after other students became suspicious of the relationship between the defendant and victim.
If convicted, Nielson’s lifetime registration as a sex offender would bar him from entering county recreational areas which have passed the Sex Offender Ordinance. Visit www.orangecountyda.com to read the prior press releases on the county’s Sex Offender Ordinance as well as the 11 other cities that have enacted the Child Safety Zone Ordinance.
Anyone with additional information or who believes they have been a victim is encouraged to contact SAPD Detective Ed Zaragoza at (714) 245-8351 or Supervising District Attorney Investigator Carl Waddell at (714) 834-7538.
Deputy District Attorney Brad Schoenleben is prosecuting this case.
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