Oak Park Mother Accused Of Sexual Misconduct With Students; Providing Them Alcohol, Drugs

OAK PARK (CBSLA) – The mother of a middle school student in the Oak Park community of Ventura County was arrested last week on allegations she provided alcohol and drugs to local high school students and engaged in sexual activity with them.

In a letter sent out to parents Oct. 10, the superintendent of the Oak Park Unified School District confirmed that a mother of a student at Medea Creek Middle School had been arrested on suspicion of providing drugs and alcohol in her apartment to two boys who attend Oak Park High School. She also may have engaged in sexual activity with them, the district said.

The woman was taken into custody Oct. 9 by Ventura County Sheriff's deputies, district Superintendent Dr. Tony Knight said.

The sheriff's department Monday identified her as 47-year-old Amalia Marie Utz. District officials were initially tipped off to the mother's actions via the district's anonymous "Report It" tool.

Utz is accused of providing two 14-year-old boys with alcohol and marijuana, and engaging in sexual acts with them, a sheriff's spokesperson said. District officials first alerted the department on Oct. 1.

She is charged with committing lewd acts with a child and oral copulation with a minor under the age of 16. She was released after posting $20,000 bail.

Police said Utz threw parties for her son and his friends. Police confirmed that they had been called to the apartment several times for parties and drugs, where they had even found runaways.

An unidentified neighbor told CBSLA that residents of her apartment complex had been complaining for weeks about the number of children hanging out at Utz's apartment.

"The kids came over after school, maybe four to six, and there's just like, too much activity over there," said the neighbor, who asked that CBSLA keep her identity hidden.

The homeowners association said it would be holding an emergency meeting Tuesday evening as residents of the complex have said they wanted Utz evicted.

"This is an incredibly disturbing and tragic situation," Knight wrote in his email. "We want to thank the people who used the Report It tool to alert us to this as well as the Oak Park High School students who reported the rumor to administrators. We cannot overemphasize the importance of speaking up when you hear or see something that is suspicious. Our instincts as parents and educators are very often right."

The district said that it was concerned there might be additional victims and asked parents to talk with their children.