Avenal middle school teacher jailed in child molestation case

An Avenal middle school teacher was arrested Friday on suspicion of eight counts of lewd acts with a minor, officials reported.

Kings County Jail records show Curt Meyer, 70, was arrested at his east-central Fresno home by Avenal police. In addition to the molestation charges, Meyer faces one count of illegally possessing an assault weapon.

Meyer is a seventh-grade math and science teacher at Reef-Sunset Middle School who taught in the district for the last 19 years, said Superintendent David East with Reef-Sunset Unified School District in Avenal. Meyer is now on paid administrative leave.

East said the district and Avenal police will hold a news conference Monday at 1:30 p.m. to discuss the arrest.

In addition to to the molestation charges, officers from the Avenal Police Department found Meyer with an illegal assault rifle, jail records show. Avenal police did not respond to a request for comment.

He was booked into the Kings County Jail, where jail records show he is being held in lieu of $925,000 bail.

This story was originally published November 8, 2015 at 7:12 PM with the headline "Avenal middle school teacher jailed in child molestation case."