A school board member in Orange County was arrested this week for allegedly possessing child pornography and harassing minors, and police say there may be more victims.
Christopher Becerra, a trustee for the Brea Olinda Unified School District, was arrested Thursday on suspicion of possession of child pornography, annoying or molesting a minor and falsifying evidence by bribing, influencing or threatening witnesses, Brea police said.
Police received a report that a school board member was sending inappropriate sexual messages to a juvenile, according to a news release.
The victims are not students in Brea Olinda Unified, police said Friday, and were contacted first over social media. Becerra threatened an adult witness, resulting in an additional charge, officials said.
Becerra represents Area 4 of the school district.
The district responded with a letter to parents and district staff addressing Becerra’s arrest.
“The District understands that this news may be upsetting, and we want to assure you that we are taking all necessary steps available to us, under the law for elected officials, to address the situation and to ensure that our students are safe and supported,” the statement said in part. “At this time, the District has no knowledge of any misconduct involving current BOUSD students or staff members, and will continue to work with the Brea Police Department to fully cooperate with this investigation.”
Becerra, 42, is also an employee at Santa Ana College and a board member at the North Orange County Regional Occupation Program, an adult education school based in Anaheim.
He was elected in 2022 and has four children who have gone through the school district, according to his biography page on the school board website.
Before becoming a trustee, Becerra worked for the school board as the administrative director of child development services between 2010 and 2018. Becerra then worked at the Orange County Department of Education as a countywide director for two years.
Detectives are worried there may be more victims because of Becerra’s proximity to children. They ask anyone with information to call the department’s detective bureau at (714) 671-4469.
