CAMPUS
NEWS
ON CAMPUS
TACKLING FOOD
INSECURITY
The first food pantry called Dons'
Corner Farmers Market launched
on Feb. 27 in The Village Quad. All
food donations were made by the
Orange County Food Bank and
local markets. The Dons' Corner
will be open on the last Thursday
of every month — March 26, April
30, and May 28 — from 11 a.m. to 1
p.m. and 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. A survey
showed the majority of SAC
students are food insecure. The
market will be free for all students
who show their SAC identification.
/ Lesly Guzman
ON CAMPUS
DISCUSSING RAPE
CULTURE, CONSENT
On March 23, the district's Title
IX coordinator Jean Estevez,
along with the Human Resources
Department staff, will be in the
Santa Ana College Central Mall to
discuss affirmative consent, what
coercion is, and to help students
understand rape culture within
our campus community. They
will offer sandwiches, chips and
prizes. This event begins at 10 a.m.
and will last until noon.
/ Carrie Graham
GEORGE MORENO / After resigning in 2018, Moreno was arrested at Alessandro High School in Hemet Jan.7.
Moreno charged
STORY
CARRIE GRAHAM
PHOTO
SCREENSHOT
Former welding faculty released on $50,000 bail after being accused of
committing lewd acts against Middle College High School student.
A onetime Santa Ana College welding professor
pled not guilty to committing lewd acts on a
Middle College High School student during a Feb.
4 arraignment in Orange County.
George Moreno, who resigned from the district in
2018, was arrested and charged Jan. 7 for multiple
incidents that took place over three years starting
in 2015 when the victim was 14 years old. The
victim did not state whether the abuse stopped
before or as a result of Moreno’s resignation,
officials said.
It was the second sexual assault on a MCHS teen
reported on campus since last summer.
Last semester, SAC student Kenji Kina, 20,
was booked on multiple sexual assault charges
stemming from a Valentine’s Day 2019 interaction
with another 14-year-old MCHS student.
Cpl. Anthony Bertagna of the Santa Ana Police
Department said another student of Moreno’s also
alleged assault, but charges were not filed due to
insufficient evidence.
Police were first notified of the incidents in July
2019. However, Moreno continued to work teaching
welding at Alessandro High in Hemet until his
arrest. He was released on $50,000 bail.
College officials said they did not know of
Moreno’s acts before they were first reported to
police last year.
“College and district officials were notified by
the SAPD of the arrest of former faculty member
George Moreno on Tuesday, Jan. 7, and we are
fully cooperating with our law enforcement
partners at the SAPD and the Orange County
District Attorney’s Office,” Brin Wall, SAC’s public
information officer, said.
Moreno was hired by SAC in 2007. By 2010, the
welding program had received over $300,000 in
public and private grants and earned prestigious
technical accreditations.
An undated article by industry partner Lincoln
Electric noted that SAC’s welding program had
a 100% graduation and job placement rate. It
also cites Moreno’s recruiting efforts at local high
schools, where he encouraged female students to
enroll in the college’s welding program and “even
assist him with the demonstrations.”
Moreno is now awaiting a pre-trial hearing
scheduled for April 8 and faces a maximum of five
years if convicted.
Anyone with information regarding Moreno is
encouraged to contact SAPD Detective Gerry
Corona at (714) 245-8343 or [email protected]
el Don Santa Ana College · March 2020
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