Glendale teacher arrested for molestation, luring

A Glendale teacher who allegedly molested a young boy and attempted to lure another was arrested Sept. 7, the Phoenix Police Department said.

The suspect, identified as John Frank Todorich of Phoenix, is a physical education teacher at Arroyo Elementary School at the Washington Elementary School District. Todorich allegedly created a Facebook profile, including a false photo, that claimed he was a 16-year-old boy. Police say he then used that profile to contact a boy under the age of 15 and solicited him to engage in sexual acts.

The boy’s mother noticed the chats, which took place in May, and alerted police.

Todorich, 55, was involved in another molestation investigation in May of 2010, when he was accused of inappropriately touching a student in gym class. However, statements of witnesses and the alleged victim did not match.

“Phoenix police then followed up and they did not make an arrest,” said Carol Donaldson with the district. “They told us, in addition to not making an arrest, they did not have enough information to move forward.”

During this allegation, Todorich was teaching at Sweetwater School, according to Donaldson.

The Washington Elementary School District said it was alerted on Sept. 6 that Todorich was being investigated and placed him on leave on Sept. 7. The district immediately moved to alert parents. He was arrested on the evening of Sept. 7.

Court documents said Todorich admitted to creating the profile, but said he did not know the victim was a minor, despite records showing the victim specified his age at least two times.

Todorich was charged with one count of child molestation, stemming from the 2010 allegations, and two counts of luring a minor for sexual exploitation in 2011. He is being held without bail.

Todorich had worked for the district since 2005 and has worked for several schools in the district.