By Redaccion
[email protected]
District Attorney Erik Nasarenko announced today that David Lane Braff, Jr., 42, of Thousand Oaks, was arrested this morning on charges of molesting eight children at McKevett Elementary School in Santa Paula.
Braff is charged with 17 felony counts of lewd acts upon a child under 14 years old and will be arraigned on those charges Monday, November 25, at 1:30 p.m., in courtroom 13 of Ventura County Superior Court. Braff is also accused of a number of special allegations and aggravating factors in the criminal complaint, including that the crimes involved planning and sophistication and that the children entrusted to the defendant’s care were particularly vulnerable.
From 2015 through 2019, Braff worked as a school counselor at McKevett Elementary, where he is alleged to have molested children between the ages of six and ten in a school office. Ventura County District Attorney investigators and prosecutors with extensive child sexual abuse experience opened an investigation into Braff last month in consultation with the Santa Paula Police Department.
“The defendant is alleged to have molested multiple elementary school children over a number of years, shattering the trust placed in him by parents, educators, and the public,” said District Attorney Nasarenko. “We intend to vigorously prosecute this case and encourage others to come forward who may have information about additional victims and crimes. Given the defendant’s history of re-occurring access to children, this investigation and prosecution remains ongoing.”
At the time of his arrest, Braff was employed as an assistant principal and school counselor at Ingenium Charter Middle School in Los Angeles. While Braff’s full employment history is not known at this time, it is believed that Braff also worked at other schools in southern California and may have been a volunteer for youth-oriented organizations.
Any individuals who believe they were victimized by Braff, or who witnessed suspicious conduct committed by him, are encouraged to contact Ventura County District Attorney Investigator Greg Webb at (805) 477-1627. Individuals are encouraged to contact Investigator Webb even if the conduct happened outside of Ventura County.
Senior Deputy District Attorney Brent Nibecker, a member of the Ventura County District Attorney’s Office Sexual Assault Unit, is prosecuting the case.
Braff is in custody at Ventura County jail with bail set at $3 million.
