Editor’s note: This article includes descriptions of child sexual abuse.

A jury convicted a former UCLA Early Care and Education center teacher Friday of nine counts of child sexual abuse.

Christopher Rodriguez – who worked at UCLA ECE centers, including the Krieger Center and University Village Center, for nearly 25 years – was found guilty of nine charges, including multiple counts of sexual battery against a minor and willful cruelty to a child. Rodriguez additionally allegedly penetrated five students digitally – meaning with fingers or toes – in his classroom during fall 2023, according to a press release from Danielle De Smeth, an attorney for the victims.

Rodriguez was found not guilty on one charge, and the jury was hung on four other charges, De Smeth said in an interview.

After the verdict was read, Rodriguez was taken into custody by courtroom deputies, and bail was set at $100,000.

Two additional victims testified in this trial, in addition to those from the original trial that resulted in a mistrial, De Smeth said in the interview. She added that she believes the jury was convinced by hearing from five different children who suffered similar symptoms after coming in contact with Rodriguez. 

All victims in the trial were protected under Marsy’s Law – a California statute that protects victims’ privacy and dignity – and were able to testify without Rodriguez present, De Smeth added in the interview.

[Related: Judge declares mistrial after hung jury in trial of former UCLA child care teacher]

One child ran out of the courtroom while testifying because of how disturbing it was for them to revisit what Rodriguez did, De Smeth said. 

“It’s gut-wrenching,” De Smeth said.

Rodriguez was arrested in February 2024 on five misdemeanor charges. His initial trial was declared a mistrial in December after jurors were hung on 11 misdemeanor counts, including sexual battery, false imprisonment, battery, willful cruelty to a child, sexual penetration with a foreign object and intimate touch against a person’s will for sexual arousal.

[Related: UCLA ECE caregiver arrested for sexual battery, willful cruelty to a child]

“This man was allowed to isolate young children and assault them while out of view of other students, teachers and classroom aides,” De Smeth said in the press release. “He often took students to the bathroom alone. He created window coverings and blockades in the classroom so that others would not be able to view what he was doing while alone with young kids, boys and girls alike.”

Parents of affected students said they noticed changes in their children’s behaviors after coming in contact with Rodriguez, including fear of going to school, violent outbursts, bed wetting, physical pain and longtime injury to genital areas, according to the press release.

Michael Machat, an attorney representing Rodriguez, declined to comment. 

“On behalf of many families affected by the defendant’s despicable acts against the three and four year old children in his care, we thank the Los Angeles City Attorney’s office and, in particular, prosecutors Jennifer Waxler and Elin Carlson who worked tirelessly to bring this man to justice,” De Smeth said in the press release.

UCLA ECE administrators sent an email to the ECE community Friday afternoon informing them of the verdict. The program implemented measures to support community members and enhance safety following Rodriguez’s leave in December 2023, the email said. 

“This has been an enormously difficult period for our ECE community and, most importantly, the children and families involved in this case,” the email said. “We sincerely hope that the outcome of this case brings some measure of justice and helps with the healing process.”

Rodriguez’s sentencing hearing is set for May 9 at the Airport Courthouse.

Bamieh & De Smeth, the law firm representing the victims, is still seeking information regarding Rodriguez’s actions from his over-25-year career at UCLA ECE centers. De Smeth also said in the interview that she hopes UCLA will be proactive in helping victims in the future and that she believes the current environment is punitive for those who come forward with misconduct accusations. 

“If people are equipped with the tools to spot predators and are openly encouraged and acknowledged for saying something, then you create the kind of environment where this type of behavior is far less likely to go unnoticed,” she said in the interview.