Teachers Arrested - Two West Covina high school teachers have been arrested after police discovered that they both engaged in sexual activity with students during a trip to the San Clemente beach last year.
According to reports from the Orange County Police Department, Melody Lippert, 38, and Michelle Ghirelli, 30, were both arrested on Saturday and held in the Orange County Jail. However, they were both released on Sunday after posting a bail of $20,000 and $50,000 respectively.
Lippert, who organized the trip during which she and Ghirelli had sex with the teenagers, was charged with suspicion of conspiracy and contributing to the delinquency of a minor. Reports indicate that she supplied alcohol to the high school students before going on to have sex with one of them. Meanwhile, Ghirelli was charged with oral copulation and unlawful sex with a minor.
Sheriff's spokesman Lt. Jeff Hallock explained that the two teachers are facing different charges because the student Ghirelli had sex with was a minor.
According to the police, Lippert organized a trip for the students to the San Clemente in Nov. last year during which she had sex with one of them. She subsequently organized another trip to the same beach and with the same group of students and invited Ghirelli in Dec. Both teachers reportedly had sex with two students during this trip.
Covina-Valley Unified district officials have noted that these trips were neither sanctioned by the school nor the district.
Michelle Van Der Linden, spokesperson for the Covina-Valley Unified school district, says district authorities reported the allegations of sexual relations between the students and teachers to the police once they got wind of it.
"A teacher is a position of authority. They're trusted. Parents send their kids to school every day and expect that they're safe," Lt. Hallock noted."To compromise that safety, to compromise that trust that we have in our teachers, is taken very seriously."
Reports indicate that Lippert and Ghirelli have both been put on administrative leave. While Lippert is an English teacher with the South Hills High School, where the teens attend, Ghirelli, who has reportedly worked at the school in the past, was serving at an administrative role in the district. Reports indicate that the students will be allowed to resume school while an investigation into the case continues.
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