Sentenced to 16 years in prison.
Feb 10, 2007 - Michael Cardoza, 58, a Pioneer Valley High School teacher, was arrested June 2006. He has pleaded not guilty to felony forcible oral copulation, 
felony oral copulation of a person under 18 and misdemeanor sexual exploitation of a child.
Cardoza was sent to Marian Medical Center Oct 2 after he overdosed on prescription sleeping pills in an apparent suicide attempt.
PRELIMINARY At his preliminary hearing on Friday, the judge ruled there was sufficient evidence to proceed with the three charges.
The prosecutor on the case, said there are seven John Does who were reportedly victimized by Cardoza through the years. They include students from Pioneer Valley, Santa Maria High School and Golden West High School in Visalia. The incident reported by the student from Visalia purportedly happened about 20 years ago.
The alleged victim in the current case visited Cardoza's house several times, and on one occasion, Cardoza showed him pornography on his computer, Goldman said.Cardoza then molested the boy and took nude photos of him, she said. The photo was found at Cardoza's house.
Scheduled to return to court Feb 22.
CONFERENCE May 4 - A readiness and settlement conference is scheduled for Aug 16. A trial date is scheduled for Oct. 22.
Cardoza, who is free on $200,000 bail, was placed on unpaid administrative leave by the Santa Maria Joint Union High School District pending the outcome of the charges against him. He has also taught at Santa Maria High School and Golden West High School in Visalia.
CONVICTED June 23, 2008 - A jury found Cardoza guilty on all seven counts he was charged with, including oral copulation with a minor both with and without force or duress. In addition to the oral-sex counts, Cardoza was convicted of documenting a sex act of a minor, molesting or annoying a child and development or duplication of an image of a child engaged in sexual conduct.
Cardoza is on unpaid leave from the Santa Maria Joint Union High School District.
Jeff Hearn, superintendent for the Santa Maria Joint Union High School District, said today that now that Cardoza has been convicted, he would be separated from the district. The district would consult with the state to determine how to go about terminating his status as a full-time employee.TT - Reminder. He was arrested in June 2006.
He will be sentenced July 31.
SENTENCED August 5 - Cardoza was sentenced to 16 years in prison. The judge said that he did not find the testimony of Cardoza credible, but found the testimony of the victim and other witnesses believable. Cardoza will have to register as a sex offender if he ever leaves prison.
TT - See this distasteful news article from Kcoy12 on the sentencing that not only names the student but states that "despite the drama, the young man has still managed to graduate from high school, and two months early at that."
The boy was 16 at the time and had attempted suicide before the molestation. At at the trial, the prosecution presented evidence that Cardoza had similarly victimized a number of boys and young men, but he was charged only with the abuse of McDaniel.
