Former UCLA child care teacher charged with sexual battery, cruelty to a child


By Sharla Steinman
May 31, 2024 5:49 p.m.
This post was updated June 2 at 9:47 p.m.
Editor’s note: The following article contains a description of reported sexual crimes against a child.
A former UCLA early child care education teacher was charged with multiple counts of sexual battery, false imprisonment, battery on a person, cruelty to a child and sexual penetration by a foreign object Tuesday.
The Los Angeles City Attorney’s office filed the charges Tuesday against Christopher Rodriguez – who worked in various UCLA ECE centers, including the Krieger Center and University Village, for nearly 25 years. He had additional criminal charges added after another child victim reported an account of alleged inappropriate sexual touching in a UCLA ECE classroom.
The UCLA ECE centers provide care for children ages two months to six years for UCLA-affiliated families.
Rodriguez was previously charged in February with five misdemeanor charges, including sexual battery, false imprisonment and willful cruelty to a child, following a UCPD investigation. UCLA placed Rodriguez on academic leave in December following a Title IX investigation into the alleged crimes.
[Related: UCLA ECE caregiver arrested for sexual battery, willful cruelty to a child]
“Unfortunately these charges – while serious – do not begin to capture the extent of the abuse Rodriguez committed against his 3 and 4-year-old students over the course of his 20+ year tenure at UCLA’s Early Care and Education centers,” said Danielle De Smeth, an attorney representing child care abuse victims at UCLA, in a press release.
UCPD did not respond to requests for comment.
A parent of a student at UCLA ECE, who was granted anonymity to keep his daughter’s identity private, told the Daily Bruin that he wasn’t sure if every UCLA child care center has accreditation. The Daily Bruin acquired multiple emails dating back to 2018 between the parent and the National Association for the Education of Young Children.
“Our records indicate this program was not accredited by NAEYC in 2018,” NAEYC Quality Assurance said in an email to the parent Feb. 29. “Program is still not NAEYC accredited.”
However, UCLA ECE claims to be accredited on their website.
A spokesperson for UCLA did not respond to requests for comment.
“Protecting the well-being of children in our care is our utmost priority. ECE has undertaken several measures to address safety and security,” said representatives for UCLA ECE in a Thursday press release. “We continue to assess and closely monitor the situation, as well as work with UCPD to monitor and enhance security measures in response.”
De Smeth added in the press release that her office’s investigation into Rodriguez’s behavior in the classroom establishes civil liability and monetary damages against UCLA.
“Multiple students have reported that while alone with them in the bathroom, Rodriguez penetrated their private areas, anal and vaginal,” De Smeth wrote in the press release. “If UCLA had appropriate training in place on how to spot a predator – or had simply enforced their own policies – this abuse could have been prevented.”
Parents of students in Rodriguez’s classroom noticed changes in their toddlers’ behavior after they were under his care.
One parent told the Daily Bruin that his daughter began to repeat sexual phrases, which he assumed she had heard under his care.
“As we’ve learned, kids … they repeat things,” the parent said. “They’re really good – something new, they hear it then they start repeating it.”