A popular 60-year-old teacher at Lincoln Middle School in Santa Monica has been arrested on suspicion of molesting four of his female students in incidents that occurred during school hours, authorities said.
In at least one case, the alleged abused continued for more than a year, according to Santa Monica police.
Thomas Arthur Beltran, a Los Angeles resident who has taught in Santa Monica for about 30 years, was taken into custody Saturday and remained jailed in lieu of $1.1 million bail, police said. He had yet to be charged by the district attorney's office.
Santa Monica police announced the arrest at a news conference Sunday, and Lt. Alex Padilla later said investigators wanted to "make sure, if we have any other victims out there, we can talk to them before we present the case to the D.A."
Some parent leaders at the school said they found the allegations difficult to believe.
"He has a stellar reputation," said one parent, who asked not to be named because of the sensitivity of the matter. "He was known to have a really good character -- well-respected, a nice guy."
Beltran was arrested after a rapid investigation that began Friday when the parents of a 12-year-old student of his brought her to police headquarters, said Lt. Dan Salerno. The child had told her parents that Beltran molested her, and she repeated her account to detectives, Salerno said.
Investigators interviewed Beltran's other students and identified three others who allegedly were victimized, the lieutenant added.
"We believe there are more victims," he said. "And we are asking anyone who is a victim to come forward."
Dianne Talarico, superintendent of the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District, said police contacted her Friday and asked for the names of classmates of the girl who came forward. She said police told her that they spoke with children at their homes Friday evening.
Talarico said school staff members met with some parent volunteers Sunday. A meeting for all parents was set for 7 p.m. today at the school. She said counselors would be available at the campus during the school day.
Padilla said some questions remained unanswered. "We don't know exactly where [the alleged molestations] occurred," he said. "Some of them may have occurred outside the classroom and out of other people's views."
Citing the ongoing investigation, Padilla declined to say what acts the alleged molestations involved.
