A teacher at Orange Glen High School was arrested in the North County on suspicion of sex crimes against minors, the Escondido Union High School District (EUHSD) confirmed.
Travis Putnam was taken into custody Wednesday and charged with four felony counts of lewd and lascivious acts with a victim 14 or 15 years old.
The San Diego County Sheriff’s Department’s (SDSO) Child Abuse Unit was notified Tuesday of sexual abuse allegations made against Putnam, 32, involving juvenile victims.
According to the SDSO, the alleged victims are two boys, and the allegations involve multiple incidents with each victim. Deputies could not provide a timeframe of the allegations, but said the alleged incidents happened “within the last couple of years.”
The incidents have nothing to do with Putnam’s employment at Orange Glen, the SDSO said.
When deputies identified Putnam as the suspect, detectives in unmarked vehicles went to his home to arrest him but got there just as he was leaving.
The detectives followed him and called deputies in marked patrol cars for assistance and eventually pulled Putnam over on the freeway and arrested him.
Putnam’s mother told NBC 7 she didn’t know all the facts of the allegations and said “No” when asked if he was married.
The EUHSD confirmed that Putnam was being investigated and that he was placed on administrative leave.
Putnam was a social science teacher at the school, according to the district.
His bio page on the school’s website, which is now deleted, said he was on the board of the San Diego Youth Leadership Conference. It also said Putnam has volunteered with the High School Ministry Collide at Emmanuel Faith Community Church since 2014.
“I’m worried because my son comes to school here,” Roger Beltran said. “If he does it somewhere else, he’d probably do it here in school without nobody knowing about it.”
The EUSHSD said none of the alleged victims were district students and said the alleged incidents didn’t happen on district property.
Orange Glen High School is located at 2200 Glenridge Road in Escondido.
Source: NBC San Diego
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