Social Media Redeems Itself in Oc … Twice

By Joelle Casteix
Worthy Adversary
April 30, 2013

http://theworthyadversary.com/1837-social-media-redeems-itself-in-oc-twice

A teacher at Anaheim’s Servite Catholic High School is accused of posing as a girl to get teenage boys to send lewd pictures of themselves. He was arrested in February and faces numerous charges.

In 2011, a teacher at JSerra High School in south Orange County was arrested on charges of lewd conduct with a 14-year-old girl. The mother found texts he has shared with her daughter and reported to police. According to the mother, she also tried to report to the school, but was rebuffed. An independent committee found that the teacher, Ricardo Aldana, had been suspended from another teaching position for inappropriate contact with students. Aldana is scheduled to go to trial this month.

What do these cases have in common? Because of the digital trail of social media, a cover-up was virtually impossible – even after JSerra students wore “Free Aldana” t-shirts, and Servite tried to dilute the news of the sexual abuse with the announcement of a new head football coach.

As I’ve said all along, it’s about the COVER-UP. Fortunately for victims, it’s a lot harder to keep secrets on the internet. Had these men not used digital media, they may never have been exposed.

And any word from new Orange Bishop Kevin Vann? Nah … He’s too busy raising money to rehab his new cathedral. Pity.