Irvine middle school teacher arrested for allegedly trying to meet with minor
Irvine police arrested a middle school teacher Sunday night for allegedly sending lewd texts and setting up a meeting with a minor.
The Irvine Unified School District placed 44-year-old Eric Reid Zuercher on administrative leave after police booked him into Orange County Jail for attempting to converse with a minor to meet and engage in sexual activity.
Investigators arrested Zuercher at his Irvine home after a private group contacted the department after posing as a 14-year-old boy online. They told police that they had been communicating with a man when the conversation took a sexually explicit turn and he asked to meet the minor.
The group briefly confronted Zuercher at his home before calling the police. After sending the text messages to the police, detectives obtained a warrant and arrested the 44-year-old middle school teacher at his home.
Investigators said Zuercher taught at Sierra Vista Middle School in Irvine. The district and police do not believe Zuercher had any inappropriate contact with IUSD students.
According to the California Department of Education dashboard, Sierra Vista Middle School has 1,188 students. It is the largest middle school in the district and serves seventh—and eighth-grade students. In total, Irvine Unified serves 37,952 students from TK to Grade 12.
