California "Teacher of the Year' accused with 'child sex abuse'

Jacqueline Ma

An award-winning teacher in National City, Caif. pleaded not guilty Monday after getting arrested and accused of having an "inappropriate relationship" with one of her 6th-grade students.

Jacqueline Ma, 34, is accused of child sex abuse for sending lewd photographs and videos to a student who was 12-years old. He is now 13-years old.

Ma, who was named the county's  "Teacher of the Year" for 2022-2023, faces up to 15 felony charges, including lewd acts with a child along with possession of child pornography, according to court documents.

"When she was arrested, she had a photograph of the victim in her wallet, she had jewelry with his initials, love letters were discovered in her classroom," said Deputy District Attorney Drew Hart during a Monday court hearing during which Ma participated via the internet.

"In some of the messages, she expressed frustration at the child for not responding to the situation quicker. She expressed jealousy when the victim was talking to other girls."

According to prosecutors, Ma would allegedly send illicit photographs of herself to the student and ask the victim to do the same. Prosecutors said that she would persistently tell him to “engage in sex acts” while he was at home.

She faces up to 15 felony charges, including lewd acts with a child along with possession of child pornography. If convicted of the 15 charges, Ma could spend 29 years behind bars.

The judge ordered that Ma remain in custody without bail. Her lawyers said he will appeal the judge's bail ruling on March 17.

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