NBC 7’s Dave Summers has the latest details on the new charges the National City teacher was re-arrested on.
The award-winning National City teacher who was arrested last week on suspicion of child sex abuse was arrested again Thursday post bail on additional felony charges including possession of child pornography, National City Police said.
On March 7, National City Police officers arrested Jacqueline Ma, 34, who was a teacher at Lincoln Acres Elementary, on child sex abuse charges after a concerned parent suspected that her 13-year-old child was possibly having an inappropriate relationship with their former teacher.
Ma was booked Tuesday into Las Colinas Detention and Reentry Facility on three counts of lewd and lascivious acts with a child under 14, and three counts of oral copulation with a child under 14, according to San Diego County Sheriff's Department records.
Ma made bail Wednesday and was due in court on March 14. Since then, NCPD detectives continued to actively investigate the case and conducted a surveillance operation, when detectives developed probable cause to re-arrest Ma on additional felony charges Thursday. Ma was arrested in the 3300 block of National Avenue in the City of San Diego and was re-booked into Las Colinas Detention and Reentry Facility, NCPD said.
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Ma is facing 14 new charges relating to possession of child pornography, sexual exploitation of a child, and "preventing or dissuading a witness or victim," according to San Diego County Sheriff's Department records.
National City Police said they will not be releasing additional information as the victim is a minor and the investigation is ongoing.
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NBC 7 reached out to Superintendent Leighangela Brady and was sent the following statement:
Today, our community learned that Jacqueline Ma, a teacher at Lincoln Acres Elementary School, was re-arrested by law enforcement as their continued investigation into allegations of inappropriate conduct with minors secured additional information to press felony charges. While this entire situation is indeed deeply troubling, we appreciate that law enforcement is dedicating resources to secure the facts and keeping our school district and community informed of their progress. I want to confirm to our school community that the employee is on leave and will not be returning to the campus. I am grateful to our entire school community for facing this situation with a shared commitment to do all that we can to maintain our children’s education without interruption.
Ma was named one of five 2022-2023 Teachers of the Year in an annual showcase of educators by Cox. In a profile about Ma announcing her award, Ma told Cox she "considers the relationships she maintains with her students her greatest accomplishments."
Ma is due back in court on Monday.
Counselors have been available at the school all week to help students cope with the situation, according to Superintendent Brady.
No other information was available.
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