A 45-year-old Alhambra man who worked as a teacher at an Arcadia private school and as a self-employed private tutor was arrested Friday on suspicion of contacting a child online to commit lewd acts. Francis Navarro Muralidharan now remains in custody on $100,000 bail as investigators work to determine whether other children may have been targeted.
According to the Arcadia Police Department’s account of the case, as reported by KTLA, Muralidharan was arrested on suspicion of attempted lewd acts with a minor under 14, contacting a minor with intent to commit certain felonies, and arranging to meet with a minor for lewd acts. Investigators say he is accused of arranging a private tutoring session with the child with the intent of engaging in lewd acts. Police were alerted on Nov. 8, to inappropriate online conversations between the suspect and a 10-year-old child, the outlet reported.
From there, detectives reviewed electronic communications and gathered evidence supporting the allegations that Muralidharan had contacted a minor for lewd acts, per the same account. That review led to his arrest in Arcadia this past Friday, placing him in custody on the $100,000 bail figure confirmed in the report.
Tutoring Work Raises Questions About Other Potential Victims
Muralidharan worked as a teacher at Arroyo Pacific Academy in Arcadia, a private school serving students from kindergarten through 12th grade, and separately ran his own private tutoring business, the report states. Because of that tutoring work and his potential contact with other juveniles, detectives say they are now trying to determine whether there are additional victims.
Anyone with information, or anyone who may have had inappropriate contact with Muralidharan, is urged to call Detective Tea at 626-574-5164 and reference case number 26-4645, per the department’s statement relayed by the station. The evidence reviewed for this report does not indicate whether Muralidharan has entered a plea or retained an attorney, and Arroyo Pacific Academy has not been reported as responding to questions about his employment status.
Not the School’s First Brush With a Teacher Facing Charges
This is not the first time an instructor connected to Arroyo Pacific Academy has faced serious criminal allegations. In June 2014, former teacher John Edward Maust was arrested on suspicion of kidnapping, false imprisonment and criminal threats after he allegedly asked three 17-year-olds for a ride, then ordered them back into the car and pulled a knife after they got out in Altadena, according to dailynews.com. Two of the three teens were reportedly his students at the school.
Academy president Philip Clarke said at the time that Maust had been placed on indefinite administrative leave, the outlet reported. Maust later pleaded no contest to two felony counts of false imprisonment by violence and was sentenced to five years of formal probation and 180 days of community service, according to pasadenastarnews.com. That case remains a separate matter from this week’s arrest, more than a decade apart and involving different alleged conduct.
For now, the current investigation into Muralidharan is ongoing, with detectives seeking additional victims because of his tutoring work and potential contact with other juveniles. Detectives are continuing to investigate whether there are additional victims.
