INDIO (CNS) - A Palm Desert school volunteer pleaded not guilty today to child pornography and other charges, while additional charges were filed against a fellow volunteer and teacher.
James McCall Anderson, 31, is facing six felony charges relating to possessing, sending and distributing child pornography.
Anderson is also charged with one misdemeanor count of endangering or abusing a child and two misdemeanor counts of committing immoral acts before a child -- which a criminal complaint describes as being “habitually drunk” in the presence of at least one child in his care or custody.
Anderson and Devin Daniel Lujan, 28, were arrested in June in the 74000 block of Scholar Lane in Palm Desert after deputies were tipped off to an allegation of child sexual abuse.
Lujan was originally charged with one felony count of lewd acts with a minor and two felony counts of oral copulation with a minor. In an amended complaint filed Wednesday, he was charged with an additional count of lewd acts with a minor and a county of child cruelty.
Lujan pleaded not guilty to the new charges Wednesday. He previously pleaded not guilty to the other charges in July.
Lujan is being held in lieu of $5 million bail.
Prosecutors made a motion to increase Anderson's bail, which will be heard at a felony settlement conference on Oct. 7. He remains out of custody on $30,000 bail. Lujan is also scheduled to appear in court for a felony settlement conference that day.
Both defendants volunteered at George Washington Charter School in Palm Desert, Desert Sands Unified School District spokeswoman Mary Perry told The Desert Sun, and Lujan was also a teacher at the Bermuda Dunes Learning Center.
If convicted of all charges, Anderson could face a maximum of eight years in prison, while Lujan could face a life sentence, Riverside Count District Attorney's Office Public Information John Hall said.