Updates and Resources Regarding the Arrest of a Teacher in the Early Care and Education Program

The following timeline describes what we can share about the incident, the actions taken by ECE to report it promptly and the various agencies involved in the investigation. The California Department of Social Services (DSS) Community Care Licensing Division will also post information related to this incident on its website. You can sign up there to receive updates.

• On Friday, Dec. 15, 2023, an ECE employee observed Christopher Rodriguez with his head, torso, and arm on an ECE student. The ECE employee notified ECE leadership the same day, who then informed the student’s parents about the incident.  
• The ECE employee also called the DSS child abuse hotline to report the incident to governmental authorities. The hotline consultant downgraded the report to a “consultation,” which means the consultant assessed that the information reported did not rise to the level of conduct that would be investigated at that time.  
• On Monday, Dec. 18, 2023, Mr. Rodriguez was placed on investigatory leave and ECE reported the incident to the DSS Community Care Licensing Division.We did not notify the broader ECE community of Mr. Rodriquez's leave consistent with campus employee relations practice, privacy laws, and to protect the integrity of investigations.
• In mid-Jan. 2024, the parents of the ECE student involved in the Dec. 15, 2023 incident reported to ECE new allegations concerning Mr. Rodriguez. A further mandatory report was made to UCPD, DSS Community Care Licensing and UCLA’s Title IX Office. Following this report, UCPD conducted an investigation.  
• UCPD’s investigation led to the arrest of Mr. Rodriguez on Feb. 21, 2024, on five misdemeanor charges, including two charges of misdemeanor sexual battery, one charge of misdemeanor false imprisonment, one charge of misdemeanor battery, and one charge of misdemeanor willful cruelty to a child.

The conduct that was initially observed and properly reported by ECE staff occurred during business hours.

UCPD Chief John Thomas has stated in a letter to ECE parents and faculty that in investigating and prosecuting criminal claims, “it is paramount that details regarding the reports not be shared by law enforcement or the university. Doing so can jeopardize the investigation, compromise the collection of evidence, making it harder to hold those responsible for such acts accountable.” UCPD has requested that “the university refrain from sharing further details regarding the substance of the reports and investigation beyond those already made public through other agencies until the prosecution of this matter is concluded.”

Out of an abundance of caution, we are taking the following safety measures at Krieger and the other ECE centers:

• Rekeying all doors at the Krieger Center.
• Security guards have been placed at Krieger, and UCPD along with other relevant campus groups will continue to monitor the situation and keep security guards for the time being. 
• UCPD is supervising the security guards and will provide additional instructions as needed.
• UCLA has a team that monitors and reports potential threats to the campus community. This group is engaged and actively monitoring this situation.
• UCPD will oversee security audits at all three ECE centers. We typically do not share security audit reports, because making that information public could create a safety risk.

On Dec. 18, 2023, the first business day after receiving allegations related to Mr. Rodriguez’s conduct, the university issued an administrative stay-away order to Mr. Rodriguez, directing him not to come to any site of the ECE department, and not to contact any families or employees at ECE. After Rodriguez’s arrest, the DSS Community Care Licensing division issued an Immediate Exclusion Order on Tuesday, Feb. 27, 2024, barring Mr. Rodriguez from entering any of ECE’s licensed facilities, and issued a Type A Citation for Mr. Rodriguez’s conduct, finding his conduct had an immediate health, safety or personal rights impact.
 

A photo of Mr. Rodriguez was shared with UCPD, security guards, ECE teachers and staff, and other relevant campus groups for safety monitoring. Security guards, ECE teachers and staff who see the teacher on campus have been instructed to contact UCPD immediately.
 

A Type A Citation is issued by the DSS Community Care Licensing Division when the department identifies an immediate health, safety or personal rights impact. The DSS Community Care Licensing Division will also post information related to this incident on its website. You can sign up there to receive updates.

Maintaining a trusting relationship with the children and families we serve is at the core of ECE’s mission. Given the seriousness of this situation, we have made the following services and information available to our students and families:

• A team of dedicated child psychologists
• Information on what to do if they become aware of similar allegations
• Connection to RAINN’s national sexual assault hotline
• Connection to UCPD for information on the investigation
• Individualized support

Yes, we are providing additional support, resources and training to teachers and staff at ECE.

ECE has conducted mandatory reporting training, will be conducting additional scenario-based trainings, and has engaged Praesidium — national experts in abuse prevention — to conduct such trainings.

To give parents time to make the important decision about re-enrollment at ECE, we are extending the deadline to Apr. 11, 2024, and waiving the $250 re-enrollment fee.

We are reevaluating our policy on staff leave notifications to parents and will share updates when this review process has been completed.

UCLA has an extensive hiring and screening process and ECE requires all employees to be in good standing with the DSS Community Care Licensing Division