Details Emerge in Case of Teacher Accused of Luring Boys Via Facebook

Patch
April 19, 2013

http://losalamitos.patch.com/articles/details-emerge-in-case-of-teacher-accused-of-luring-boys-via-facebook


A former Servite and Capistrano Valley Christian Schools teacher will be arraigned Friday for allegedly encouraging sex acts and soliciting and possessing nude photos and videos of more than 105 underage boys by posing as a teenage girl on Facebook.

Orange resident Zachary Joshua Reeder, 30, faces charges of 22 felony counts of using a minor for sex acts, 15 felony counts of distributing pornography to a minor, 13 felony counts of contacting a child with the intent to commit a lewd act, six felony counts of lewd acts upon a child, two felony counts of lewd acts upon a child under 14, one felony count of possession and control of child pornography and one felony count of distribution of child pornography.

If convicted on all counts, Reeder faces 44 years in state prison. He is out of custody on $1 million bail.

A Servite High School teacher at the time of his arrest last month, Reeder posed as a female on Facebook and befriended underage males, police said. Scores of boys from Orange County have come forward as alleged victims.

According to the Orange County District Attorney’s office, Reeder is accused of establishing inappropriate online relationships with at least 106 underage boys between the ages of 13 and 17 from Servite, Beckman, Northwood and Canyon High Schools.

Reeder worked at Beckman High School, where he was a walk-on assistant baseball coach for four seasons through last year. According to Capistrano Valley Christian Schools, Reeder taught history at CVCS in 2007-08 and coached the junior varsity basketball team. According to investigators, none of the alleged victims were students there.

Investigators believe Reeder targeted victims he knew through teaching or coaching. He is accused of engaging in lewd acts with the victims by using the online account of the fake female high school student he created to convince and direct the victims to send sexually explicit photos and videos of themselves to the defendant. Reeders' false profile featured a photograph of a young white female with light blonde hair, according to an Irvine PD press release.

Detectives believe there may be more victims who have not yet been identified and are asking anyone with information to contact Det. Frough Jahid at 949-724-7184 or fjahid@cityofirvine.org.