2 West Covina Teachers Arrested For Allegedly Having Sex With Students At Beach
SAN CLEMENTE (CBSLA.com) — Two women who work as teachers in West Covina have been arrested for allegedly having sex with students on a beach camping trip.
Deputies arrested Melody Lippert, 38, and Michelle Chirelli, 30, both instructors at South Hills High School, after West Covina police alerted the Orange County Sheriff's Department on Friday about the alleged misconduct that occurred at San Clemente State Beach.
Lippert allegedly met up with a group of South Hills High teen boys at the beach in November 2014 on a trip that wasn't sponsored by the school.
Investigators say Lippert supplied the boys with alcohol and had sex with one of them.
Several weeks later, Lippert and Chirelli scheduled an overnight camping trip at the beach with several of the same students. They are accused of having sex with two male students during that trip.
One of the students is 18 years old and the other is a minor, CBS2/KCAL9's Brittney Hopper reported.
Both women were arrested Saturday and were booked into the Orange County Jail. Lippert was being held on $20,000 for conspiracy, and contributing to the delinquency of a minor. Ghirelli was being held on $50,000 for oral copulation and unlawful sex with a minor.
They have posted bail and are scheduled to be arraigned in court on Wednesday.
The Covina Valley Unified School District has notified parents.
"We have to take these allegations very seriously, and as soon as we heard about this, we contacted the West Covina Police Department and began working with their detectives immediately," CVUSD spokesperson Michelle Van Der Linden said.
Hopper knocked on the doors of both teachers' homes and no one answered.
Neighbors say both women are married with families.
Detectives believe there could be more victims. Anyone with information regarding these alleged crimes is urged to contact deputies at (714) 647-7000 or (714) 647-7418.
