Updated at 7:45 p.m. July 14, 2016:
A former track coach at Santana High School was arrested Thursday on suspicion of engaging in sexual activity with an underage student while employed at the East County campus.
Keith Alan Silvia, 49, turned himself in at the Santee Sheriff’s Station this morning and was taken into custody on suspicion of four misdemeanor counts of molesting a minor and a felony charge of luring a juvenile for purposes of engaging in lewd acts.
Last month, the parents of the alleged victim — a junior at the Magnolia Avenue campus — found letters from Silvia in the girl’s backpack, Lt. Dan Brislin said. The couple reported the discovery to school administrators, who in turn notified the sheriff’s department.
“Detectives conducted an investigation and discovered that Silvia fostered an intimate relationship with the victim and arranged more than one off-campus meeting, (during which) they engaged in inappropriate physical contact,” the lieutenant alleged.
The suspect, who also worked as a campus supervisor at the high school, subsequently resigned from his job there, according to Catherine Martin, spokeswoman for Grossmont Union High School District.
Before being hired by the district, Silvia passed mandatory federal background checks, Martin said.
The suspect was booked into San Diego Central Jail. He was released late this afternoon after posting $100,000 bail, a detentions clerk said.
–City News Service
