Assistant principal at LA area school accused of molesting 8 children

SANTA PAULA, Calif. (KABC) -- An assistant principal of a school in the Los Angeles area was arrested Friday morning for allegedly molesting eight children at an elementary school in Santa Paula, prosecutors announced.

Thousand Oaks resident David Lane Braff Jr., 42, is charged with 17 felony counts of lewd acts on a child younger than 14, according to the Ventura County District Attorney's Office.

Braff worked as a school counselor at McKevett Elementary in Santa Paula from 2015 through 2019, prosecutors said. He is accused of molesting children between the ages of 6 and 10 in a school office.

His arrest came after prosecutors and investigators opened an investigation last month.

Braff also faces special allegations that the crimes involved planning and sophistication and that the children in his care were particularly vulnerable.

"We intend to vigorously prosecute this case and encourage others to come forward who may have information about additional victims and crimes," Ventura County District Attorney Erik Nasarenko said in a statement. "Given the defendant's history of re-occurring access to children, this investigation and prosecution remains ongoing."

At the time of his arrest, prosecutors said Braff was employed as an assistant principal and school counselor at Ingenium Charter Middle School in Winnetka.

"While Braff's full employment history is not known at this time, it is believed that Braff also worked at other schools in Southern California and may have been a volunteer for youth-oriented organizations," the Ventura County DA's office said.

Braff remains behind bars in Ventura County jail, with his bail set at $3 million. He is scheduled to be arraigned Monday.