Ex-Teacher Sentenced to One Year in Jail for Child Molestation

A former Laguna Niguel resident and teacher pleaded guilty Tuesday and was sentenced to one year in jail for molesting two teenage students and for possession of child pornography, according to Orange County court records.

Alex Bassinne, 51, who now lives in Newport Beach, accepted a plea deal from Orange County Superior Court Judge Craig Robison and pleaded guilty to two counts of lewd acts upon a child and one count of possession of child pornography, all felonies, court records show.

Robison ordered the ex-teacher to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life and to serve three years of formal probation when he is done with his one year jail term, according to Deputy District Attorney Jennifer Walker.

Bassinne, who was arrested in May and posted $100,000 bail, will report to jail on Jan. 11.

Prosecutors said at the time of the sexual assaults, Bassinne was a teacher in the Santa Ana Unified School District and was teaching at Santa Ana High School and Raymond A. Villa Fundamental Intermediate School.

According to prosecutors, Bassinne touched the buttocks of a 15-year-old female student during a class trip on Feb. 15, 2009 and in November 2010 he looked down the shirt of a 13-year-old female student.

In 2011 Bassinne moved with his family to Newport Beach but left a desk, containing images of graphic child pornography depicting girls, approximately 10 to 12 years old, and other furniture behind in Laguna Niguel. The disc was later found and turned over to police.

Police searched Bassinne's Newport Beach home and found child pornography similar in nature to that found in the Laguna Niguel home, the DA reported.

-City News Service contributed to this report.