MORENO VALLEY, California — A Riverside County charter school teacher was arrested Friday following allegations that she sexually assaulted a student, law enforcement officials announced.
Samantha Josephine Watson, 41, of Eastvale, was taken into custody and booked into the Robert Presley Jail. According to a news release from the Riverside County Sheriff’s Office, Watson faces allegations of oral copulation, digital penetration, and transmitting harmful material to a minor.
The investigation began on Jan. 28, 2026, when deputies received reports of inappropriate contact involving a student at a school in Moreno Valley. Investigators subsequently determined that Watson allegedly engaged in inappropriate contact with a student between 2017 and 2018 while employed as a teacher.
Sheriff’s officials did not explicitly disclose the name of the school but noted that Watson worked at a charter school situated in the 23000 block of Sunnymead Boulevard. Online records indicate that Options for Youth Public Charter Schools operates at that location.
Watson was apprehended on Friday when deputies executed a search warrant at a residence in the 14000 block of Silent Stream Court in Eastvale.
The sheriff’s office stated that the investigation is active and ongoing, and further details have not been released. Authorities urge anyone with additional information or who believes they may be a victim to contact Master Investigator D. Schell at 951-955-1074.
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