CHULA VISTA (CNS) - A judge is expected to rule Friday on whether there is enough evidence to order a Chula Vista elementary school teacher to stand trial on charges of molesting three boys and using child pornography to get boys to expose themselves online.
South Bay Judge Edward Allard III heard preliminary hearing testimony today in the case against 42-year-old John Raymond Kinloch, who was charged last December with molesting a former student.
Kinloch was subsequently charged in February with 12 counts of committing a lewd act on a child involving a second boy, and two months later was charged with molesting a third boy.
The defendant faces 450 years to life in state prison if convicted of the 38 charges, according to Deputy District Attorney Enrique Camarena.
The first-grade teacher at Wolf Canyon Elementary was arrested last Nov. 30 after agents with the San Diego Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force searched his home. He was released on bail that evening.
Authorities began looking into the online activities of Kinloch based on tips received by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, San Diego police sex crimes Lt. Anastasia Smith said.
The investigation showed that Kinloch, while posing as a girl on a website called "MeetMe," persuaded boys to disrobe during live one-on-one webcam interactions, Smith alleged.
Kinloch, who lives in San Ysidro, was re-arrested Dec. 5 on suspicion of child molestation after one of the alleged victims came forward, according to San Diego police.