A Southland elementary school teacher is in custody on suspicion of having unlawful intercourse with a minor, Burbank police reported Wednesday.
Sean Sigler, 53, was arrested Tuesday after being interviewed by Burbank police detectives, said Burbank police Sgt. Derek Green.
"The victim reported having a recent sexual encounter with an adult male who she first met while in the fifth grade at Gardner Street Elementary School in the city of Los Angeles," Green said.
Green said Sigler and the girl have had "some type of relationship" over the years, but that the exact nature of the relationship is not yet clear. The girl told police that the alleged sexual encounter occurred Dec. 20, 2017, at Sigler's home, Green said.
Sigler was booked into the Burbank jail in lieu of $100,000 bail, and is due in court Thursday, according to Green.
The girl is 17 now and has never been a Burbank Unified School District student, the sergeant said.
Sigler was employed by the Los Angeles Unified School District from March 1998 to June 2016, and that year began teaching at Bret Harte Elementary School in Burbank, Green said.
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"There is no information to suggest any of the alleged incidents occurred in a Burbank school," he said. "At this time, the allegations against Sigler appear to be isolated and there is no information to suggest there are other victims or any students at risk."
Sigler, who according to police has no prior criminal history, has been placed on leave by the Burbank Unified School District, which is currently on winter recess, according to Superintendent Matt Hill.
"The Burbank Unified School District takes these allegations against Mr. Sigler very seriously," Hill said. "We will cooperate fully with the police investigation and will also conduct our own internal investigation into this matter."
Anyone with information relevant to the investigation was asked to call the Burbank Police Department's Juvenile Bureau at (818) 238-3210.
