Crime & Safety

Former Teacher Denies Luring Boys Via Fake Facebook Identity

A former Servite and Capistrano Valley Christian Schools teacher pleaded not guilty to charges of using Facebook to lure boys into sending sexual photos and lewd conduct.

A former high school history teacher and baseball coach pleaded not guilty today on charges of using a fake woman's Facebook profile to lure underage teenage boys to send him sexually explicit photos and videos of themselves.

Zachary Joshua Reeder, 30, of Orange is charged with 22 counts of using a minor for sex acts, 15 counts of distributing pornography to a minor, 13 counts of contacting a child with the intent to commit a lewd act, six counts of lewd acts on a child, two counts of lewd acts on a child younger than 14, a count of possession and control of child pornography and a count of distribution of child pornography, all felonies.

Reeder could face up to 44 years in prison if convicted.

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Reeder worked at Beckman High School, where he was a walk-on assistant baseball coach for four seasons through last year. According to Capistrano Valley Christian Schools, Reeder taught history at CVCS in 2007-08 and coached the junior varsity basketball team. According to investigators, none of the alleged victims were students there. He taught at Servite at the time of his arrest.

Orange County prosecutors said 106 boys ages 13 to 17 from Servite, Beckman, Northwood and Canyon high schools fell victim to the alleged scheme.

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Reeder taught history at Servite High School in Anaheim, where he began working in 2008, Irvine police Lt. Julia Engen said. He has also worked at Beckman High School in Irvine, where he was an assistant baseball coach for four seasons -- through the last school year, she said.

Most of the exchanging of allegedly pornographic material was done between June 1, 2010, and Jan. 14, 2013, according to prosecutors.

After exchanging messages with some of the boys, he would see them the next day in class or on the baseball field, Deputy District Attorney Nicole Nicholson alleged.

Investigators suspect Reeder took a woman's photo and used it to create a Facebook profile to lure the teenage boys into sending him lewd photos, Engen said.

Reeder was arrested in February on charges of victimizing at least 35 boys. He is being held on $1 million bail and is next due in court for a pretrial hearing May 31.

Anyone with information about the case was asked to call Detective Frough Jahid at (949) 724-7184 or Supervising District Attorney Investigator Anthony Sosnowski at (714) 347-8794.

 - City News Service


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