California high school athletic trainer accused of sexual relationship with minor

RIVERSIDE, Calif. (KTLA) -- Police arrested a man who works as an athletic trainer at a high school in Riverside this week on suspicion of carrying on a sexual relationship with an underage former student, authorities said.

John Torrez, 26, served as a Career Technical Education Instructor for the Riverside County Office of Education since November 2018, according to Riverside Police. Torrez was assigned to John W. North High School in the Riverside Unified School District, RCOE officials said.

He was taken into custody Thursday on suspicion of two felony counts of committing a sex act with a minor, according to Riverside County booking records.

A school resource officer at John W. North High School recently began an investigation “after a female student recently came forward to report the incident involving a former student of North High School, who has not attended the school during the current school year,” Railsback said in a written statement.

“The SRO learned this instructor had been engaged in an ongoing relationship with the minor student for several months,” he said.