A California preschool is under fire after officials allegedly concealed a horrifying case of child sexual abuse for months, igniting outrage among parents and renewed questions about school accountability under Gov. Gavin Newsom’s administration.
According to Townhall, a male teaching assistant at Sunset Preschool in San Ysidro is accused of molesting a then four-year-old girl during nap time in January—an incident the district reportedly downplayed as a mere “safety incident.”
Parents say they were not informed until September, sparking outrage when the story became public.
The accused, 31-year-old Jaime Godinez, now faces two counts of lewd acts with a preschooler and has been named in a civil lawsuit filed by the victim’s family.
Their attorney, Samer Habbas, said he’s received multiple calls from other parents who fear their children may have also been harmed.
“The parent was expecting the child to be safe in the hands of the school district, and the school has failed in those duties,” Habbas told NBC San Diego.
The lawsuit names Godinez, the supervising teacher and the San Ysidro School District as defendants.
Parents are calling for the resignation of Superintendent Gina Potter, accusing her of minimizing the situation.
“There should be no circumstance where a teacher assistant should be unsupervised in any classroom where he can have himself in the position to inflict that type of damage to a minor,” Habbas said.
At the time of the alleged assault, the supervising teacher was not in the classroom, despite district policy requiring multiple adults to be present with preschoolers.
She reportedly has not faced disciplinary action.
District officials have refused to comment, citing pending litigation.
In an Oct. 6 letter to parents, the district said Godinez had passed state and federal background checks showing no prior criminal record. “
The district immediately placed the employee on administrative leave in an abundance of caution. Termination proceedings are now underway,” the letter read.
Godinez had worked for the San Ysidro School District for three years, including at the Smythe Child Development Center.
Habbas confirmed his office is investigating whether additional victims exist.
“We can’t speak definitely at this moment whether there are other victims, but we can tell you there are other parents that have reached out,” he said.
The alleged abuse occurred months before Newsom signed Senate Bill 848, a sweeping measure designed to prevent sexual misconduct in California schools.
Authored by state Sen. Sasha Renée Pérez (D), the law requires school districts to implement anti-abuse training, strengthen reporting procedures and establish clear boundaries for staff-student interactions.
The law also mandates a statewide database, managed by the Commission on Teacher Credentialing, to track educators under investigation for misconduct and prevent them from quietly transferring to other schools.
Pérez, who has publicly spoken about being targeted by a predatory teacher, called the legislation “deeply personal” and “an important step toward justice.”
However, the law does not take effect until Jan. 1, leaving many parents skeptical about its impact.
Critics argue that without strict enforcement and penalties for violations, even strong policies will fail to protect vulnerable children.
“Getting a 5-year-old to report is a concern, and extracting that information is a concern,” Habbas said, noting the difficulty of detecting abuse among preschoolers.
Godinez remains out on bond as the criminal and civil cases continue. Parents say their trust in the San Ysidro School District has been “irreparably broken.
WATCH:
