A Vista Unified School District substitute teacher was arrested this week on suspicion of molesting a 13-year-old girl at a park in Oceanside on Saturday, according to officials.
Conner Chanove, 27, was arrested by Oceanside police after a woman reported finding him inside a car with her daughter, who is a Vista Unified student, at Guajome Lake Park, Oceanside police said in a news release.
The mother said she saw “inappropriate activity” between the man and her daughter, pulled the girl out of the car and confronted Chanove, police said.
The mom reported the incident to detectives who then began searching for Chanove. He was arrested Monday.
Chanove was booked into Vista Jail on allegations of committing lewd and lascivious acts on a child, luring a minor for a sex offense and arranging a meeting with a child for lewd purposes. He was held in lieu of $1 million bail.
In a statement sent to parents on Tuesday, Vista Unified officials said they had been notified Saturday on about the allegations against Chanove.
“We are appalled by the thought that someone trusted to work with our children would betray their trust and innocence,” district officials said in a news release. “Please be assured that this adult will not be on any campus in the District and that our administrative team will cooperate fully with law enforcement to ensure that justice is served.”
Police said Chanove was also coaching for the all-girls Seaside Water Polo Club based out of Carlsbad at the time of his arrest.
“The organization is shocked by this and the coach has been suspended,” Seaside Water Polo officials said in an emailed statement. “Although we are unaware of any incident in our program, the parents have been asked to contact authorities with any information.”
Chanove was also previously employed as a lifeguard for the city of Encinitas and was previously employed as an open-water lifeguard for the city of Carlsbad.
