A physician who volunteered to work at Newport Harbor High School sporting events last year has been charged with sending sexual messages to school's cheerleaders, prosecutors said Tuesday.
David Lee Haller, 51, of Newport Beach, was charged Monday with two misdemeanor counts of child annoyance, according to the Orange County District Attorney's Office. He is scheduled to be arraigned June 26.
Haller volunteered as a doctor at several sporting events at the high school from October to December, prosecutors said. He has also served as a doctor and volunteer with the UC Irvine Spirit Squad cheerleading team.
Haller is accused of sending a "sexually motivated and inappropriate manner" message Aug. 30 to a Newport Harbor High School cheerleader on Instagram, prosecutors alleged. Another cheerleader allegedly received a similar message Oct. 27 through the Snapchat application, prosecutors said.
Haller's attorney, Peter Iocona, declined to comment.
According to state records, Haller was listed as a physician in the department of orthopedics at a Kaiser Permanente facility in Irvine.
Mayra Suarez, a spokeswoman for Kaiser Permanente, said the medical group learned of the allegations Tuesday.
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"While we understand the alleged inappropriate relations occurred outside of his assigned duties and outside of Kaiser Permanente's facilities, we take any such allegation seriously," Suarez said. "Dr. Haller is currently on leave."
Investigators suspect there may be more alleged victims and encouraged anyone with relevant information to call investigator Paul Carvo at (714) 834-5025.
