A Los Angeles special education teacher is accused of having sex with a 13-year-old student in her car and providing minors with marijuana — and police believe there may be other victims.
Colleen Jo Matarico, 43, of Valley Village, was arrested on Thursday and charged with child molestation and furnishing marijuana to a minor, according to the Los Angeles Police Department.
The teacher “groomed and sexually assaulted a 13-year-old victim in her classroom, and later convinced the victim to have sexual intercourse in her vehicle,” police said in a statement.
“Detectives believe there are additional, unidentified victims of Matarico who have yet to come forward,” the LAPD said in an appeal for “additional victims of sexual assault.”
The department only listed Matarico as “a teacher,” without saying where she taught. However, she is listed as a teacher at John Burroughs Middle School in the Hancock Park area of Los Angeles, according to the school’s website.
Her LinkedIn profile states she is a special education teacher in the Los Angeles Unified School District.
The Post has reached out to school officials for comment.
Matarico is charged with five counts of lewd acts with a minor, two counts of lewd acts with a minor 14 or 15 years old and one count of furnishing marijuana to a minor.
She is being held on a $1.3 million bail.
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