Burbank sex assault suspect may have been under influence of laced marijuana during incident: Lawyer

BURBANK, Calif. (KABC) -- The former Burbank High School student accused of going on campus and sexually assaulting several teen girls may have been under the influence of laced marijuana oil at the time of the alleged incident, his attorney said.

Patrick Nazarian of Glendale made his initial court appearance on Wednesday.

According to the Burbank Police Department, the 22-year-old made his way onto the campus at around 9 a.m. on Monday where he allegedly sexually assaulted a 14-year-old girl. The girl told officers Nazarian approached her while she was in the bathroom, police said.

"The man sexually assaulted the victim, a short struggle ensued, and the suspect fled the bathroom before being apprehended by school employees," read a statement released by police.

Investigators said officers spoke with two additional female students - a 14-year-old and a 17-year-old - who said they were also "inappropriately touched" by Nazarian.

Through his lawyer, the Nazarian pleaded not guilty to one count of felony sexual assault and two misdemeanor counts of annoyance of a child under the age of 18.

His lawyer told the court while the former student was campus, he may have been under the influence of laced marijuana oil. Nazarian is now being held on a $45,000 bond.

Meanwhile, the Burbank Unified School District's board has called an emergency meeting slated for next week to discuss how to strengthen security at all of its schools after learning from police that Nazarian was able to get into the school through an unlocked door in the student parking lot.

The board's president, Steve Ferguson, issued the following statement to students and parents:

"Dear BUSD Students, Families and Employees:

Yesterday we learned of a horrific incident at Burbank High School which impacted and jeopardized the safety of the students and staff on that campus. It is clear that greater precautions are necessary to ensure the safety of students and staff on all of our school sites. Working with the Superintendent, Dr. Weisberg and I have asked that security protocols be reviewed at all of our sites and have called a special meeting of the Board of Education on March 17th at 6 pm at the District Office to review and potentially allocate funding for new safety measures at our sites. The safety of our students and staff is our most fundamental responsibility and we will continue to work with site administration, staff and police personnel to ensure the safety of our school sites. We want to thank our site staff, the Burbank Police Department and all of our service providers who are working to support the campus community at this time."

Anyone with information was asked to contact the Burbank Police Department Domestic and Family Crimes Unit at 818-238-3210.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Eyewitness News spoke with police who confirmed the suspect graduated from Burbank H.S. in 2018. Police said there is another student who happens to have the same name as the suspect who also graduated from the school, but he's a 2019 graduate. That second student is not connected to this case and is not being investigated by police.