A teacher at a middle school in Redlands was arrested Friday for the sexual abuse of a student that began when the boy was 12 years old, the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department announced Friday.
The teacher, 52-year-old Joseph Nardella of Highland, taught at Clement Middle School in Redlands while the now 18-year-old victim was a student there, according to the Sheriff's Department. The school district has placed Nardella on administrative leave.
The abuse took place for about five years, until the victim was 17, and the department's Crimes Against Children Detail began an investigation Thursday after the victim made the allegations.
Nardella was arrested the next day and booked into the Central Detention Center in San Bernardino, where he is being held on $350,000 bail, the Sheriff's Department said.
Jail records show Nardella has been transferred to the West Valley Detention Center in Rancho Cucamonga, and he is due to appear in San Bernardino Superior Court on Wednesday on a felony charge of continuous sexual abuse of a child.
Police believe there may be additional victims, and anyone with information is asked to contact Deputy Vanayes Quezada at 909-387-3615.
Anonymous tips can be made by calling 800-78-CRIME (27463) or by visiting wetip.com.