By Redacción
[email protected]
Ventura County District Attorney Erik Nasarenko announced Tuesday that additional charges have been filed against David Lane Braff Jr., 42, as part of an ongoing investigation led by the District Attorney’s Bureau of Investigation.
On April 29, prosecutors filed an amended criminal complaint adding 14 new felony counts of lewd acts upon a child under the age of 14. These new charges relate to five additional alleged victims. Four of them were students at McKevett Elementary School in Santa Paula, where Braff worked as a school counselor between 2015 and 2019. The fifth victim was reportedly abused between 2004 and 2005, during Braff’s employment with the Conejo Recreation and Park District in Thousand Oaks.
With the amended complaint, the total number of identified victims rises to 13, and the total number of charges increases to 31 felony counts of child molestation involving both male and female victims. Braff is scheduled to be arraigned on the amended complaint on May 21, 2025, at 1:30 p.m. in courtroom 12 of the Ventura County Superior Court.
“The defendant is now accused of molesting even more young victims across multiple years and locations,” Nasarenko said. “Our investigators and prosecutors remain committed to uncovering the full extent of his crimes, and we encourage anyone with information to come forward.”
Braff was initially arrested on Nov. 22, 2024, and charged with 17 felony counts of lewd acts on children under 14. At the time, he was accused of molesting eight students at McKevett Elementary School between 2015 and 2019. He was working as assistant principal and school counselor at Ingenium Charter Middle School in Los Angeles when taken into custody. The initial charges also alleged Braff exploited a position of trust, targeted particularly vulnerable victims, and acted with planning and sophistication.
Braff’s employment history spans over two decades in roles involving children throughout Southern California. From April 2000 to August 2005, he worked as a part-time gym attendant and recreation leader for the Conejo Recreation and Park District in Thousand Oaks. Between 2003 and 2015, he held multiple positions with the Conejo Valley Unified School District, including intramural coach, campus supervisor, childcare assistant, substitute leader, and boys’ freshman basketball coach. He also served as a paraeducator and campus supervisor in the Moorpark Unified School District from 2006 to 2015.
In July and August 2014, he worked briefly as a behavioral therapist at The ABA Network, Inc., in Thousand Oaks. From August 2015 to November 2019, Braff was a school counselor at McKevett Elementary School in the Santa Paula Unified School District. Starting in November 2019, he was employed as a school counselor at Bright Star Schools in Los Angeles, while also working as a substitute teacher for the Rio School District in Oxnard. Between June 2021 and November 2024, he served as a referee at Sports Academy in Thousand Oaks. He was also employed as a counselor in the Ventura Unified School District from January 2022 to February 2023, and as assistant principal and school counselor at Ingenium Charter Middle School in Canoga Park from March 2023 until his arrest.
The investigation remains active. Anyone who believes they may have been victimized by Braff, or witnessed suspicious behavior, is urged to contact Ventura County District Attorney Investigator Greg Webb at (805) 477-1627.
Senior Deputy District Attorney Brent Nibecker, a member of the Sexual Assault Unit, is prosecuting the case.
Braff remains in custody at the Ventura County jail, with bail set at $3 million.
