OC School Employee Found In Car Backseat With Student, 16, Police Say

SANTA ANA, CA — A 32-year-old Tustin Unified School District classified employee was arrested on charges of sexual assault involving a student, authorities said Wednesday.

Santa Ana police officers were dispatched at around 7:30 a.m. Tuesday to the area of Westwood Avenue and Riviera Drive regarding a call for service about potential sexual activity happening inside of a parked car.

Upon arriving, police found the car and two people inside. One person was identified as 32-year-old Mariano Hernandez, a Behavior Interventionist at Benson Elementary.

The girl was identified as a 16-year-old Foothill High School student, also within the Tustin Unified School District. Both the victim and Hernandez told police that they had originally met at Foothill High School and had been dating for a few weeks, police said.

The employee was arrested and booked into the Santa Ana Jail on various sex-related charges.

Anyone with information was asked to contact Detective M. Tapia at (714) 245-8379, mtapia@santa-ana.org, or Orange County Crime Stoppers at 1-855-TIP-OCCS.