The case of Saddleback High special-ed assistant Alonso Manuel Gonzalez–arrested Nov. 17 on charges he sexually molested a student at the SanTana high school–continues. Today at an arraignment hearing in Orange County Superior Court, Judge Cheryl Leininger allowed Gonzalez to remain free on $25,000 bond and set a Jan. 13 preliminary hearing on the case. The dour-looking Gonzalez didn't offer a plea; instead, he stood quietly as Leininger issued a protective order for discovery, required Gonzalez to “stay away from the victim” (Leininger's words, not mine, so I'm not putting in the mitigating “alleged” in front of the word) and turn over any weapons he may possess. But the whopper: Gonzalez can't set foot on a school campus for three years unless a judge says otherwise. Maybe all of this is standard protocol in molestation cases, but something smells rotten in the Banana Republic, and it ain't the strewn trash off Standard… and betcha Saddleback High administrators say nothing about this case to parents!
