Crime & Safety

Infamous RivCo Teacher Confronted About Sex Allegations on YouTube Pleads Not Guilty

Andrea Michelle Cardosa, 40, of Perris could face 75 years to life in prison if convicted of sexually assaulting two girls.

A former school administrator accused of molesting two Riverside County girls -- one of whom confronted her in a recorded telephone call later circulated on YouTube -- pleaded not guilty Friday to felony charges after a judge denied a defense motion to dismiss the case.

Andrea Michelle Cardosa, 40, of Perris could face 75 years to life in prison if convicted of sexually assaulting the girls.

Cardosa, who was arrested Feb. 3, is charged with 11 counts of lewd acts on a child under 14 years old and five counts of forced sexual penetration, as well as multiple sentence-enhancing allegations of targeting more than one victim in a sex crime.

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Cardosa appeared before Superior Court Judge Helios Hernandez, who rejected defense attorney Randy Collins' argument that the statute of limitations had run out and the case should be dismissed.

Collins then argued for a bail reduction, citing Cardosa's lack of criminal history. But Supervising Deputy District Attorney John Henry countered that the state's bail code only permitted a reduction where there's an "unusual circumstance," and none exists in this case, he said.

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Hernandez kept the defendant's bail at $5 million and scheduled a felony settlement conference for May 23. Cardosa is being held at the Robert Presley Detention Center in Riverside.

She became the focus of national attention in January, after a 28-year- old woman posted a videotaped phone confrontation with Cardosa, accusing her of sexual abuse 16 years earlier, which Cardosa appeared to acknowledge.

Shortly afterward, a second woman, now 18, came forward, making similar allegations.

The first alleged victim to come forward, Jamie Carrillo, claimed she was molested by Cardosa beginning when she was a 12-year-old student at Chemawa Middle School in Riverside. The second woman, identified only as Brianna, alleged Cardosa sexually abused her when she was 15 and attending Tomas Rivera Middle School in Perris.

Cardosa held teaching, coaching and administrative positions at both schools between 1997 and 2013, according to representatives from the Riverside Unified and Val Verde Unified school districts.

The defendant was working as an assistant principal at Alhambra High School in Los Angeles County but resigned immediately after Carrillo's video went viral and a copy was sent to Alhambra Unified School District officials.

Riverside police investigators allege Cardosa had illicit contact with Carrillo between 1997 and 2001, including while she was in high school. The second girl was allegedly molested in 2009 and 2010. She has filed civil claims against the school districts.

"They're supposed to protect their students, not physically harm them and mentally harm them," Brianna said in a Jan. 23 statement. "They're supposed to do their job a certain way because if they would have done it years ago, this would have not happened to me now."

During Carrillo's recorded conversation with Cardosa, posted Jan. 17, the alleged victim upbraids the educator, telling her, "Do you realize that you brainwashed me and you manipulated me and that what you did was wrong?"

"Yes, and I regret it," Cardosa replies.

"You sicken me, and every day when I think about what you did, you sicken me," Carrillo says. "You should be so ashamed and so disgusted with yourself."

"I am, I am," comes the answer.

According to an arrest warrant affidavit prepared by Riverside police Detective Roberta Hopewell, Carrillo told a detective that Cardosa, who was her basketball coach at Chemawa and a "mentor," molested her in various forms -- including oral sex -- from age 12 to 18.

The second alleged victim told investigators that Cardosa, who handled student discipline at Rivera, "took a special interest in (her) and they became very close."

On one occasion, Cardosa allegedly drove her to a secluded area of Mead Valley, "began telling (her) how much she loved her," tried to kiss her and fondled her privates, Hopewell wrote.

According to the declaration, Cardosa told detectives that she'd had a sexual relationship with Carrillo, but said the girl was 14, 15 or 16. She said the relationship continued when Carrillo moved to the Victorville area, according to the document.

The last known contact the defendant had with the second girl is believed to have been some time in 2010, according to court documents.

– City News Service.


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