PORTERVILLE, CA (KMJ) – A member of the Army National Guard, working as an instructor at the Porterville Military Academy is accused of molesting a teenage student.
On March 21ST, the victim’s mother met with deputies – deputies from the Tulare County Sheriff’s Office at her home – where she told them she believed a former teacher had molested her 14-year-old daughter.
The investigation finding evidence linking 40-year-old James Randolph Van Norton to the alleged crime.
The Porterville man was arrested.
Van Norton is currently a member of the Army National Guard, was assigned as an instructor at the Porterville Military Academy, where he met the victim.
Detectives have been working with the Porterville Unified School District, the Army National Guard and the Porterville Police Department in regards to this investigation.
Van Norton is currently being held at the Tulare County Sheriff’s Office Pre-Trial Facility on numerous sex-related crimes.
His bail is set at $2.5 million.
Click to listen to the report by KMJ’s Liz Kern:
