Teacher gets 74 years in prison

A former Redlands teacher who fabricated a science experiment as a ruse to molest three boys was sentenced Monday to more than 74 years in prison. Sean Ramiro Lopez, 31, was convicted in June of inviting three Clement Middle School students, where he taught English, to participate in a program that would help them increase muscle mass and the size of their genitals, according to court testimony. The students met Lopez several times over an 18-month period beginning in 2000 in what they believed was a laboratory, where allegedly they would undress, allow Lopez to measure them, watch pornographic movies and masturbate.

A defense attorney for Lopez argued before San Bernardino Superior Court Judge J. Michael Welch that Lopez should receive a lesser sentence by comparing the case to more severe molestation cases that involve kidnapping or torture. In Lopez's case, the boys voluntarily went to the teacher's apartment, even after they figured out the program was a sham and visited at least once when Lopez wasn't there, said defense attorney John Aquilina. Aquilina also pointed to a lack of evidence presented about the boys being emotionally traumatized and questioned why a teacher in a position of trust should face a harsher sentence than a stranger who randomly molests children. [...]

"Fondling is a crime. Fondling is child molestation," [Prosecutor Victoria] Cameron said. [...]

"I have no excuses, and there is nothing I could say to justify my actions to (the victims)," Lopez said. He also apologized to his parents, who weren't present, for "not living up to their morals, values and expectations."

source: Article 'Teacher gets 74 years in prison' by Mike Cruz; www.sbsun.com/news/ci_3459537; San Bernardino County Sun; 31 January 2006