East Palo Alto school employee pleads not guilty to lewd acts with 7th grader
An employee at a middle school in East Palo Alto has pleaded not guilty to charges alleging that he committed lewd acts with a seventh-grade student there, San Mateo County prosecutors said Wednesday.
James Fitch, a 54-year-old Stockton resident and campus relations coordinator at Cesar Chavez Ravenswood Middle School, was arrested Monday after East Palo Alto police received allegations against him earlier this month.
According to the San Mateo County District Attorney's Office, Fitch allegedly started communicating by text message and in person to seek a sexual relationship with the student, and the case came to light after his wife looked through his cellphone while he was sleeping and saw the text messages.
Fitch pleaded not guilty Tuesday to charges of committing lewd acts with a minor and contacting a minor for sexual purposes. He had the county's Private Defender Program appointed as legal representation and remains in custody on $500,000 bail ahead of his preliminary hearing planned for Sept. 30.
Ravenswood City School District Superintendent Gina Sudaria said in a social media post that after learning of the allegations against Fitch, they "took immediate action" and "continued to cooperate and communicate with law enforcement."
Fitch passed all fingerprint and background checks when he was hired, the superintendent said.
"We are deeply saddened for the involved student and their family. We will continue to offer support services and counseling. We will also continue to make ourselves available to assist the police and the District Attorney as this case moves forward," Sudaria said.
Anyone with information about the case is asked to contact East Palo Alto Police Detective Sgt. Jose Luaorozco at (650) 629-4538.