Simi Valley Teacher Arrested, Accused Of Lewd Acts With A Minor

A former Simi Valley teacher was arrested this week for having a sexual relationship with a student under the age of 14. Malia Brooks, 32, plead not guilty this morning at the Ventura County Superior Court in California.

Brooks is facing one charge of committing a lewd act on a child, one charge of oral copulation with a person under the age of 14, and three counts of genital penetration with a foreign object.

NBC reports that Brooks taught sixth grade at the Garden Grove Elementary School in Simi Valley. She’s been a teacher at the school since 2004.

Police will not identify the student involved in the case but they did say that it was a male student who attended Garden Grove Elementary School. The school teaches students from kindergarten to sixth grade. It’s unclear if the student was in Brooks’ class.

Simi Valley Police Department said: “There were no indications that Malia Brooks had other victims.”

Broosk attorney Ron Bamieh said at the hearing today that his client, who is being held on $2 million bail, suffered from a mental illness.

Bamieh said: “(Brooks) has suffered from a mental illness. We’ve had her diagnosed and she’s in treatment … My guess is a lot of the charges precipitated from that illness.”

Authorities said that they have been investigating the case since February when they were alerted about the incident by the school. School officials did not say how they found out about Brooks alleged relationship.

Assistant Superintendent Cary Dritz said: “I would like to reassure parents and guardians that the school and District has taken every precaution to ensure the safety of students and staff at our schools.”