Crime & Safety

Canoga Park Teacher Gets 5 Years For Fondling Students

A former fourth-grade teacher inappropriately touched female students at a Canoga Park elementary school.

VAN NUYS, CA — A former fourth-grade teacher who pleaded no contest to inappropriately touching female students at a Canoga Park elementary school was sentenced Friday to five years in state prison and ordered to register as a sex offender for life.

Rene Tenas, 39, of Canyon Country, pleaded no contest Oct. 2 to two felony counts of lewd act upon a child, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office.

The charges against Tenas stemmed from allegations the inappropriately touched six girls -- ages 9 and 10 -- on or between Aug. 1, 2016, and Jan. 31, 2017, at Hart Street Elementary School, according to Deputy District Attorney David Nary.

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City News Service; Photo: Shutterstock