Santa Ana high school safety officer arrested on suspicion of child molestation

A high school safety officer in Santa Ana was arrested this week on suspicion of child molestation, police said in a statement.

Santa Ana police began investigating David Escobar, 44, of Santa Ana, after a woman reported that Escobar sexually molested her on multiple occasions when she was 4 years old. The investigation led to another woman who told police that Escobar sexually assaulted her when she was a teenager, the Santa Ana police statement said.

Escobar is a district safety officer at Saddleback High School and was arrested while on campus, police said. He has been placed on administrative leave, said district spokesman Fermin Leal. Safety officers are unarmed civilians employed by the district to respond to security concerns on campus, according to the district’s website.

Escobar also previously worked as an after-school program coordinator for the city of Santa Ana, from 1996 to 2011, police said.

It was not immediately clear if Escobar is represented by an attorney. He is being held at the Theo Lacy jail in lieu of $1-million bail.