Substitute teacher in Azusa arrested in molestations
Police say Virgil Cleon Harper, 65, inappropriately touched students at Powell Elementary.
A substitute teacher at Powell Elementary School in Azusa was arrested at home this morning on suspicion of inappropriately touching students, police said.
Police arrested Virgil Cleon Harper, 65, of Azusa, at 7:10 a.m. in connection with lewd acts with a child younger than 14, said Azusa police Capt. Gene Street.
Harper surrendered without incident and without making any statements to police, Street said. Street said Harper did not have a criminal record.
Police began investigating Harper on March 24 after some students in a class that Harper was substituting in the previous Friday told their regular teacher that Harper had touched them inappropriately during class for what investigators later determined was about 90 minutes, Street said.
Street would not say what grade Harper was teaching at the time or how many children he allegedly molested.
The teacher who the students told reported the incident to the school principal, who reported it to police, Street said.
"We were brought into it immediately the morning it was discovered," Street said.
After the district attorney's office authorized an arrest warrant, officers took Harper into custody.
Harper was being held at the Azusa city jail today pending a court hearing Monday at L.A. County Superior Court in Pomona.
molly.hennessy-fiske@latimes.com
