BREAKING NEWS

A 36-year-old teacher at Talbert Middle School was arrested and charged today with molesting a 14-year-old female student. Prosecutors say he gained her trust and molested her over a two-month period in 2005, but she only recently came forward.

Daniel Axtell, 36, of Santa Ana, has been charged with six counts of felony lewd acts on a 14-year-old child, one count of felony penetration with a foreign object of a minor, and one count of felony first degree burglary — which in this case involves entering a building with intent to commit a felony.

Axtell is accused of grooming the student, then 14, to gain her confidence, gaining her parents’ trust by meeting them and committing multiple lewd acts with the victim in hotel rooms and his car, according to a news release from the Orange County District Attorney’s office. The victim only recently came forward to report the abuse, said district attorney spokeswoman Susan Schroeder.

“A junior high teacher meets a girl who’s a student,” she said. “He took advantage of her trust.”

Axtell will appear in court at 1:30 p.m. Friday for his arraignment at the West Justice Center in Westminster.

School adminsitrators did not return calls for comment Thursday. An employee who answered the phone but would not give her name said Axtell no longer works there. He is not listed among the faculty on the school’s website.

Huntington Beach police are still investigating Axtell, and anyone who believes they have been victimized by him are asked to call Det. Cathy Meza at (714) 536-5970.