A former La Jolla Country Day School teacher recently hired to teach at a school in San Jose has been arrested and charged with sexually assaulting a 17-year-old former student at the San Diego school, the District Attorney's Office announced Thursday.
Jonathan Sammartino, 35, who had just finished his first week at the Harker School in San Jose, was charged with statutory rape, oral copulation of a minor and digital penetration of a minor.
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Officials at La Jolla Country Day School did not immediately return a phone call seeking comment.
According to an arrest warrant declaration, "Jane Doe" was allegedly engaged in a romantic, sexual relationship with her teacher, Sammartino, between April 2016 and September 2016, in the alleged victim's senior year and after graduation.
Sammartino and Jane Doe met on multiple occasions to engage in consensual sex acts, according to the affidavit. After the alleged victim lost her virginity to Sammartino, she disclosed the relationship to a friend, according to the arrest warrant.
In July of this year, Jane Doe filed a crime report with the UC Berkeley Police Department, where she attends college. She identified Sammartino as the alleged perpetrator, according to the affidavit.
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In a pretext phone call, Sammartino admitted the past relationship with the alleged victim, the affidavit stated.
According to his Linkedin profile, Sammartino taught at La Jolla Country Day from 2012 to 2016 and then taught at the French American International School in San Francisco. He was teaching AP Psychology at his new school.
After his arrest in Santa Clara County on Tuesday, Sammartino posted bail and is due in court for arraignment Oct. 23 in San Diego.
He faces four years and four months in prison if convicted.
