Bijan Nickroo II, the coach of the Simi Valley High School’s varsity lacrosse team, has been busted for allegedly engaging in sexual conduct with a 14-year-old boy. The 32-year-old coach, who was also an assistant football coach, was arrested on felony charges for having oral sex with a person under 16 and luring and soliciting a child via a computer, according to the Ventura County Star.
In addition to the charge, investigators are looking into whether Nickroo had a fake social media account that he used to solicit nude photos from students and it is believed that additional victims may come forward.
Investigators believe additional victims could be from other schools in the area, however, a majority of potential victims are believed to have been from Simi Valley High School, according to the Los Angeles Times.
“The Simi Valley Unified School District takes each and every reported act of misconduct seriously and is committed to aggressively pursuing any allegation to determine the truth and, if necessary, initiate the appropriate disciplinary or administrative measures,” the district said in a statement.
Nickroo, who had worked at the school since 2012, has been placed on administrative leave.
UPDATE: According to police, Simi Valley High School lacrosse coach Bijan Nickroo set up a fake social media profile which he used to obtain pornographic selfies of students throughout the area. Police still attempting to identify many of those victims. https://t.co/dNRsuxOmxJ pic.twitter.com/oeFEEw2Edc
— CBS Los Angeles (@CBSLA) December 17, 2019
Since the beginning of 2019 alone, a handful of teachers have been arrested on similar charges, including 25-year-old substitute teacher Alexis Mercedes Boberg in Baltimore, Beulah High School teacher Kelsie Schmidt in North Dakota, Rancocas Valley Regional High School teacher Alexandra Reiner in New Jersey, and 50-year-old Florida substitute teacher Angela Jean Stanton in Florida. Additionally, Texas teachers Meredith Null and Edna Longoria were arrested on similar charges.
As for why the number of these incidents has seemingly increased, studies suggest that smartphones are the primary reason for the spike in illicit relationships, as it allows teachers to communicate with the minors without supervision.
According to a report from the Texas Education Association, smartphones make easy for teachers to privately text and talk with students and also make it possible for teachers and students to share explicit images.