California 6th-Grade ‘Teacher Of The Year’ Arrested On Child Porn, Sexual Assault Charges

National City, CA – A sixth-grade teacher recently arrested on allegations she sexually assaulted a 13-year-old former student was re-arrested on 14 more felony counts on Thursday.

Jacqueline Ma, 34, was initially arrested at Lincoln Acres Elementary School at approximately 8 a.m. on March 7 on three counts of lewd and lascivious acts with a child under 14 and three counts of oral copulation with a child under 14, KNSD reported.

“The arrest took place on campus but was away from students, as both law enforcement and our site staff collaborated to ensure that student learning and the campus climate were not interrupted,” National School District Superintendent Leighangela Brady told KSWB. “We know that our entire school community is as stunned as we were by this news.”

The sixth-grade teacher was named “Teacher of the Year” in August of 2022, KSWB reported.

The investigation into Ma began on March 6, when the National City Police Department (NCPD) received a report from a parent who was concerned Ma was having inappropriate contact with her 13-year-old child.

Ma was one of the child’s former teachers, according to investigators.

Investigators developed probable cause to arrest Ma and apprehended her at the school the following day, KSWB reported.

Ma was booked into the Las Colinas Women’s Detention Facility and was released on bail later that night.

But NCPD detectives weren’t done looking into the allegations against Ma and soon developed probable cause to arrest her on even more charges, KSWB reported.

Ma was apprehended in the 3300-block of National Avenue on March 9 on suspicion of 14 new felony charges, including seven counts of possession of child pornography, two counts of lewd and lascivious acts with a minor, one count of prevention and dissuading of a witness, and four counts of sexual exploitation of a minor.

Her arraignment on the new counts has been set for March 13, while a hearing on the original charges is slated for the following day.

No other details were immediately released and it is unclear how many victims may be involved in the case.

“The district will cooperate with law enforcement and cannot comment any further on the pending investigation,” Brady told KSWB. “We will continue to do everything possible to keep our students’ safety, needs, and education first and foremost.”