Bell, CALIFORNIA

He pleaded to three counts of oral copulation of a person under age 18, three counts of unlawful sex with a minor and no contest to two counts of sodomy.

May 28, 2008 - Alex Diaz, 37, a Bell High School teacher, was arrested on suspicion of having sex with a minor. The girl was 17 when sheriff's deputies found Diaz and the girl in the back seat of a car in a parking lot in Carson May 21.

The teenager had attended Bell High, moved away, and recently returned and reenrolled at the campus southeast of downtown Los Angeles.

June 5 - Diaz is scheduled to be arraigned Thursday. The criminal complaint alleges Diaz had been having an affair a sexual relationship with the Bell High School student since Nov. 15, 2006.

NOT GUILTY PLEA June 12 - Diaz pleaded not guilty to nine felony sex-related counts. He is due back in Compton Superior Court on July 23, when a date is scheduled to be set for a preliminary hearing to determine if there is enough evidence to require him to stand trial.

***** ONLINE RESOURCE
Denise Nix at the Daily Breeze has an online blog called Tracker to track cases in the court system in the South Bay. Not just teachers, but stories of interest to readers, from murder to rape, drugs to robberies. It's a great public service.

Scheduled Preliminary Hearing July 23, 2008 (Source: Denise Nix blog Tracker. See link above.)

GUILTY PLEA & SENTENCING August 27 - Diaz pleaded guilty to three counts of oral copulation of a person under age 18, three counts of unlawful sex with a minor and no contest to two counts of sodomy. He was sentenced to six months in jail and five years' probation.

Other conditions of his sentence are that he not be around anyone under 18, except his newborn son, and that he attend a yearlong sexual battery program and undergo psychotherapy.