A former assistant football coach at Los Osos High School is due in court Wednesday to answer charges that he put a hidden camera in a girls' restroom at the Rancho Cucamonga school.
David Riden, 52, was arrested last month after investigators served a search warrant and seized several electronic devices from his home and car. Riden faces felony charges of alleged possession of child pornography and allegedly using a minor for sex acts.
Attorney Gloria Allred represents a parent of a girl who attends Los Osos. Allred said the authorities have a number of questions they need to answer.
“First, what is the process being utilized to identify victims? Second, who is involved in that process? Third, what steps are being taken to ensure that victims are not re-victimized by that process?” she asked. Allred claims the school district has failed to take any meaningful action des[ite the fact that girls at the school have been harrassed since news of the hidden camera was released.
"The school has been made aware that the entire girls’ water polo team was taunted with literal cheers of ‘Free Riden’ from the football team," said Allred.
Riden worked at Los Osos High School beginning in 2015 as a locker room attendant and assistant coach for the varsity football team.
San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department detectives said in August that a staff member at the high school found the hidden camera in the girl’s bathroom and called the police.
“The detectives are continuing that investigation and will be conducting a forensic examination of the items they seized,” said San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department spokesperson Mara Rodriguez. Investigators said they will continue to try and identify additional victims.
The Chaffey Joint Union High School District was notified of the charges and is assisting with the investigation, according to a Rancho Cucamonga Police Department news release. After Riden was arrested, he resigned from the Chaffey Joint Union High School District, Superintendent Mathew Holton said in a statement.
“We will provide support and counseling for our students,” he said.
“We have committed to do all we can to provide support and counseling for our students during this time.”
According to Allred, students are struggling not knowing whether they were videotaped or not. “My law firm and I represent many of the girls who are concerned that they may have been videotaped while they were naked or partially naked,” she said.
The girls’ family members and their lawyers want to know how many girls were secretly recorded and whether any of the images have ended up on the internet.
The San Bernardino County District Attorney's office created a resource page for concerned parents and community members.
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