California ‘Teacher of the Year’ hit with 14 charges in child sexual abuse case

A teacher in National City who won a “Teacher of the Year” award last August was arrested and booked into county jail for her “inappropriate relationship” with a 13-year-old former student, police said.

Jacqueline Ma, 34, was a teacher at Lincoln Acres Elementary in National City — just south of San Diego — where she taught fifth and sixth grades.

But on Monday, a “concerned parent” reached out to the National City Police Department saying she was afraid her 13-year-old was being treated inappropriately by Ma, according to a news release.

It took just a day for detectives to develop probable cause to arrest the teacher.

She was booked into jail on “numerous felony charges” but was released after she was bailed out, according to police.

Detectives continued to investigate and re-arrested Ma on Thursday, charging her with additional felonies in the case.

She is now being held without bail at Las Colinas Women’s Detention Facility.

Police did not release details of the alleged crimes committed by Ma, noting that the victim in the case is still a minor.

The teacher is charged with seven counts of possession of child pornography as well as with four counts of sexual exploitation of a child.

She is also charged with two counts of committing lewd or lascivious acts with a child.

Finally, Ma is charged with attempting to dissuade a witness from testifying.

School Board Superintendent Leighangela Brady said at a school board meeting Wednesday that the community was trying to process the “unthinkable situation.”

Ma was a teacher in the National School District since 2013 and had a bachelor’s degree in biology and a master’s in education, both from UC San Diego, according to her “Teacher of the Year” profile in the San Diego Union Tribune.

The award was announced last year by the San Diego County Office of Education.

Her colleagues at the time said she was instrumental in helping Lincoln Acres Elementary adjust to using technology for teaching during the pandemic.

“I could not have survived without her when it came to virtual learning,” teacher Cynthia Valle-Lone said at the time.