LAUSD teacher in wild pursuit charged with molest, evading police

LOS ANGELES

Kip Arnold was charged with three counts of lewd act on a child who was 14, two counts of oral copulation of a person under 16, one count of sexual penetration by a foreign object and one count of evading an officer.

The 51-year-old has been with LAUSD for eight years. He remains in the hospital under observation.

Arnold led police on a wild chase on Tuesday that ended with his car launching 70 feet down an embankment. He led investigators on a chase from his Lakewood home to the South Bay.

Arnold, a physical education teacher at Southeast Middle School, is accused of having a sexual relationship with a 14-year-old girl in 2005 between June and September.

According to Bell police, Arnold met the alleged victim at Nimitz Middle School in Huntington Park. The incidents happened on and off campus, during and after school hours, and the relationship went on for years, according to Mark Haushalter, the attorney for the alleged victim.

Authorities say Arnold has faced similar troubles before. According to court records, he was charged with two molestation cases in 1993 in Long Beach, but they were dismissed.

LAUSD said they are notifying students at all schools where Arnold has worked, including Southeast Middle School, Nimitz Middle School, Gage Middle School, Orchard Academies 2B and Bell High School, where former students may be attending now.

Anyone with information is urged to call the Bell Police Department at (323) 585-1245.

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