Foothill High School history teacher Roger Kavigan, 55, of Long Beach was arrested Nov. 23 for allegedly sending lewd text messages to a minor, authorities say.
This comes after a video surfaced on social media Nov. 18 of a boy confronting Kavigan over the alleged inappropriate text messages, according to the Orange County Sheriff’s Department.
Kavigan was booked in the Orange County Jail with a bail set at $100,000, according to county arrest records. Investigators said they believe more victims may be involved.
He has also been placed on indefinite administrative leave, Tustin Unified School District spokesperson Rina Lucchese told The Epoch Times.
When confronted, Kavigan was asked why he was texting the teenager’s brother, who allegedly had been exchanging sexually explicit text conversations with him, which were revealed on the social media post.
After the video surfaced, school district officials sent an email to parents, saying, “When this information came to the District’s attention, the District immediately informed Child Protective Services and law enforcement.”
The district was unaware of the allegations toward Kavigan until after learning of the misconduct through social media reports and the leaked texts, according to the email.
The district also specified that it is believed none of the allegations took place while Kavigan was fulfilling his work responsibilities.
“We have no information to suggest the allegations are related to the employee’s official duties as a teacher or that the alleged misconduct took place on campus,” the district’s email reads.
Parent Lisa Jewell, a former Tustin resident with children at Foothill High School, told The Epoch Times her daughter attended Kavigan’s history class last year.
Jewell said her daughter told her after the first day of school Kavigan asked students to introduce themselves their preferred pronouns and sexual orientation as an icebreaker.
Former Foothill High student Katelynne Hoffman, 19, told The Epoch Times she also felt apprehensive when she interacted with Kavigan.
She said she recalled her freshman year attending the Gay-Straight Alliance club, which Kavigan headed, and said she felt uneasy from the start.
“Automatically walking into that room, it was just an uncomfortable feeling,” she said. “I never went back to that club.”
Hoffman also said she noticed Kavigan would be more friendly to male students.
“You can tell looking back on it especially, that he had certain people that were his favorites. That he was always closer to. But it was mainly guys,” she said.
