Teacher to Face Molestation Charges

An elementary schoolteacher has been ordered to stand trial on charges of molesting eight young girls in his classroom.

Thad Jesperson, who taught second- and third-graders at Toler Elementary School for five years, faces as much as 32 years in prison if he is convicted, Deputy Dist. Atty. Tracy Prior said.

Eight girls, now 8 and 9, testified at a preliminary hearing Thursday that Jesperson inappropriately touched them over the past two academic years.

Jesperson, 39, who lives in Murrieta with his wife and four children, was suspended without pay when the charges surfaced. He was freed on $100,000 bond.