An elementary school teacher accused of improperly touching five female students pleaded not guilty Tuesday to five misdemeanor counts of child molesting.
Carlos Munguia, 46, was a teacher at Hurley Elementary School in La Puente when the alleged crimes occurred between September 2015 and February 2018, according to prosecutors.
Munguia -- whose next court hearing is June 5 in West Covina -- could face a maximum of five years in local custody and lifetime sex offender registration if convicted as charged, according to the District Attorney's Office.
Munguia was arrested April 12 by Los Angeles County sheriff's investigators and was released that evening on a $100,000 bond, jail records show.
A spokesman for the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office said last week that he could not comment about where the alleged crimes occurred.
In a statement released last week, the Rowland Unified School District said it "takes all allegations of employee misconduct seriously in order to protect our students and staff.''
"We received concerns last month and immediately an investigation
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began and authorities were notified,'' according to the district's statement,
which said Munguia was placed on paid administrative leave at that time.
