LOS ANGELES -- A John Marshall High School special education teacher was behind bars Tuesday for alleged sexual misconduct with students, authorities said.
Fred Johnson, 60, was arrested Monday at his North Hollywood home and booked on suspicion of lewd acts with a dependent adult, said Los Angeles police Officer Norma Eisenman. Johnson was being held in lieu of $800,000 bail, police said.
"On Aug. 10 ... an aide in Johnson's class notified the principal that she had witnessed Johnson display inappropriate behavior toward several students in the Special Education Program," according to a police statement. "The police were immediately notified."
The alleged victims are 14 to 19 years old, police said. Johnson had worked at the school since 1992, police said.
Authorities would not confirm an NBC4 report that the case involved inappropriate photographs of the special-education students.
Los Angeles Unified School District officials would not comment beyond a previously released statement.
"Marshall High School and the district are cooperating with the Los Angeles Police Department's investigation of allegations of inappropriate conduct involving a Marshall High School teacher," the statement said. "Marshall High School and LAUSD take such allegations very seriously."
Johnson had been reassigned to a non-school site pending the outcome of the investigation, and a letter was sent home with students.
NBC4 reported that some suspicious photos were found by school employees, who notified police. A woman told Channel 4 that her 17-year-old autistic son saw the teacher taking pictures of "naked kids -- his friends."
Another woman told the station that the photos showed students ages 14- 19 posing with swim trunks and towels.
"They were just holding them up in the front, covering their private parts," the woman said. "They were naked."
She told the station another photo showed a school staff member kissing a 15-year-old female student on the lips.
The case will be presented to the district attorney's office for review.
August 17, 2007: Police: Special Ed Program 'Sexual Misconduct' Investigation Underway 
