San Ysidro teacher aide suspected of inappropriately touching preschooler arrested

SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI) -- The San Ysidro School District confirmed Thursday night Jaime Godinez, a teacher’s aide at Sunset Preschool, was arrested on suspicion of inappropriately touching a child in January.

The San Diego Police Department arrested Godinez on July 23, and the California Department of Social Services later conducted an investigation at the preschool on Aug. 29, but parents say the district took too long to notify them about the situation.

Parents say they used to feel safe sending their kids to school.

“She was okay at the beginning, and then it just started progressing, progressing, progressing," Antonio Perez said about his daughter who was a student at Sunset Preschool in January.

Throughout the school year, Perez says he started noticing changes in his daughter.

“My daughter did go through quite a bit of trauma going here to school," he said. "We had a big issue with her not wanting to come in for nap time.”

Perez believes an incident, allegedly in his daughter’s class, led to several sleepless nights and his daughter begging to stay home from school.

“We were just like okay she just doesn’t want to go to school, but now like I said, this is raising big eyebrows," he said.

On Jan. 15, Godinez allegedly inappropriately touched a child, according to a report from the California Department of Social Services.

“It’s horrible," Geisha Mares said. "I’ve been overthinking. I mean I’m a mom and just thinking that, that person could have been close to my daughter.”

Mares says her daughter was in preschool at the time, and when she spoke with the principal on Monday, they told her the incident didn’t happen in her daughter’s class.

“They don’t really make you think it’s that bad,” Mares said.

In the original report, investigators say they found evidence in the child’s clothing, leading to the arrest of the instructional aide, identified as 23-year-old Jaime Godinez.

“Once you read it and you realize what went on and what happened in that classroom, it makes you feel really uncomfortable and just terrified,” Mares said.

But, an amended report released to parents later left out that information.

“It seems that every parent has different information,” she said.

The licensing division notified the district they completed their investigation after visiting the school on Aug. 29.

In a statement, the San Ysidro School District says, “Following this notification, we immediately began informing Sunset Preschool families of the outcome which indicated inappropriate contact. The individual remains on unpaid leave, and termination proceedings are in progress.”

“It took eight months for them to tell us that our kids were in danger," Mares said.

The district never publicly released the name of the teacher’s aide who was arrested, but they did provide it to us when we reached out.

“As we see it as parents and family members that they’re trying to protect the identity of this individual,” said Jocelyn Hernandez, whose niece goes to the preschool.

Mares says if parents were notified sooner, they could have asked their kids questions or gotten their own tests to ensure their child’s safety.

“My kids could have been affected, too. How do we know? How many kids? A predator is not going to come and do it one time,” said Roxane Palestino, who has children in the district.

Perez says he found out from an anonymous Facebook post and never received a call from the school.

“Now that it’s coming to light, a lot of things are clicking into place, and now we want answers,” Perez said.

The San Ysidro School District maintains their taking the matter seriously and prioritize student safety.

Meanwhile, these parents plan to show up at the next board meeting on Oct.16 to share their concerns about the situation.