Racy holiday party with high schoolers leads to charges for ex-Claremont schools official

The former president of the Claremont school board and two other men have been charged in connection with a holiday party that drew an uproar from parents who said their high school children were offered alcohol and exposed to improper behavior by a “dirty Santa.”

The annual “tree trimming” party took place Dec. 3, police said, at the Claremont home of Steven Llanusa, 62, who was the president of the Claremont Unified Board of Education at the time. He resigned a week later after parents publicly accused him of exposing their children, members of the Claremont High School choir program, to alcohol and inappropriate behavior when they performed at his home.

The investigation led police to arrest Blake Taylor White, 34, of Temecula on Dec. 28 on suspicion of lewd or lascivious acts with a minor, the Claremont Police Department said in a statement Thursday. He was released on $25,000 bond.

White was charged with two counts of lewd or lascivious acts with a minor 14/15 years of age and four counts of annoying or molesting a child.

Police said White was also known as “Buddy the Elf.” It was unclear whether he was the “dirty Santa” who reportedly made inappropriate comments at the party. According to parents, there were other shirtless male entertainers present.

Llanusa was charged with two counts of contributing to the delinquency of a minor and one count of providing alcoholic beverages to a minor under 21 years of age, according to the police statement.

Another Claremont resident, Tandy Robinson, 61, was also charged with one count of providing alcohol to a minor.

The charges were filed Feb. 9 by the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office, according to the police statement.

Greg Risling, a spokesman for the district attorney’s office, called the allegations “deeply troubling.” Most disturbing, he said, was that the “alleged crimes were committed at a location where parents should be able to trust that their children will not be exposed to predatory behavior.”

All three defendants are scheduled to appear March 30 in Pomona Superior Court.