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Former La Jolla Country Day teacher had sexual relationship with then-student, warrant states

Posted at 3:41 PM, Sep 13, 2018
and last updated 2018-09-13 20:11:50-04

SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — The former La Jolla Country Day teacher charged with sexual misconduct this week reportedly engaged in sex acts with a former student.

An arrest warrant alleges Jonathan Sammartino, 35, was in a sexual relationship with an unnamed student during her senior year at La Jolla Country Day and after graduation.

The then 17-year-old student engaged in sexual acts with Sammartino, then 33-year-old, on multiple occasions in his car and at his San Diego home from about April 2016 to Sept. 2016, according to the warrant.

RELATED: Former La Jolla Country Day School teacher arrested for sexual misconduct

On some occasions, the student would sneak out of her home to meet Sammartino at his car.

According to the student, the relationship was consensual and "no fear or force was used" by the teacher. The student also disclosed her relationship with the teacher to a friend of hers in June of 2016.

On July 17, 2018, the student, who now attends UC Berkeley, filed a crime report with campus police. During the investigation, the student identified the suspect as Sammartino, the warrant states.

On Aug. 22, the student and Sammartino spoke over the phone, in which the teacher acknowledged their past sexual relationship and his knowledge of her age at that time.

Sammartino was arrested Monday in San Jose on felony charges of statutory rape, oral copulation with a minor, and digital penetration of a minor. He had been working at The Harker School, where he has since been placed on administrative leave.

Sammartino is scheduled to be arraigned in a San Diego courtroom on Oct. 23.