A Mendota school principal has been charged with molesting second grade students. 

Richard Garcia, a 49-year-old principal at McCabe Elementary School, was taken into custody Wednesday night. 

“The Mendota Police Department was contacted by a female who was alleging inappropriate touching by a school teacher,” Chief Gregg Andreotti of the Mendota Police Department said Thursday. 

Andreotti said the former student came forward four months ago with the accusations and an investigation led to three more alleged victims. 

“He’s nice. We were like shocked when we heard this,” Jose Fuentes a student at McCabe said. 

Police said it happened between 2012 and 2014 when Garcia was a second grade teacher at Washington Elementary. They said he taught second grade and all four alleged victims were in his class. 

Current students said he’s still around, visiting classrooms and doing the morning announcements.

“He normally goes in the cafeteria for breakfast, but this day he didn’t come or he didn’t show up,” Jocelyn Hernandez a Washington Elementary student said. 

Fuentes said just last week Garcia gave a speech lecturing students on a serious issue, and now they’re finding out this news about him. 

“He gave that speech and then the next week they caught him having child abuse. Why would he do that? That’s so bad,” Fuentes said.

A statement from the school district said they’re working closely with authorities and have placed Garcia on paid administrative leave. 

He’s now charged with four counts of child molestation. His bail is set at $480,000.

Police believe there could be more victims.

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