BANNING (CNS) - A janitor who works for the Banning Unified School District was arrested over the weekend for alleged lewd acts with a minor, the Banning Police Department announced today. Bernard Fontes, 37, was arrested at his Banning home on Sunday and released later that day on $55,000 bail, according to county jail records.
Details on the alleged crime were not disclosed by police, but school district officials said the alleged victim is not a Banning Unified student. Fontes has been placed on unpaid administrative leave, and district officials said they are working closely with the police department in its investigation. A police statement indicates that investigators contacted Banning Unified upon discovering that Fontes worked for the district and are unaware of any additional alleged victims. Anyone with information regarding the case was asked to call the Detective Bureau at (951) 922-3170.
Fontes' arrest comes two months after Banning school administrator Charles Patrick Mayer was arrested in Rancho Cucamonga for allegedly attempting to lure a minor for sex. San Bernardino County sheriff's investigators allege he sent nude photos of himself to an online contact he thought was a 14-year-old boy but was, in fact, an undercover police investigator. Mayer is also on unpaid administrative leave from his job as dean of students at Banning's Nicolet Middle School.