California 'teacher of the year' arrested for sexual abuse of former student 

A recipient of the California “teacher of the year” award was arrested this week for allegedly sexually assaulting a former student, authorities said. 

Sixth-grade teacher Jacqueline Ma, 34, was charged with three counts of lewd and lascivious acts with a child under 14 and three counts of oral copulation with a child under 14, according to police records.

The parent of a 13-year-old student called the National City Police on Monday claiming she suspected her child was “possibly having an inappropriate relationship” with a former teacher, police said. 

Ma was arrested on Tuesday on the school campus around 8 a.m. No students were around at the time of the arrest. 

Ma had been a teacher at the Lincoln Acres Elementary School in National City since 2014 and was named one of the “Teachers of the Year” for the 2022-2023 school year by the San Diego County Office of Education. 

According to a statement by the National School District Superintendent Leighangela Brady, the district is only aware of one victim, who is no longer a student at the school. The identity of the victim was not released given that the investigation is ongoing and the victim is a minor. 

“We know that our entire school community is as stunned as we were by this news," Brady said.

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

Ma was released from Las Colinas Detention Facility after posting bail on Tuesday night, according to the San Diego County Sheriff’s department.

The case is under investigation. It is unclear when the abuse occurred.