Justice for Jamie, Injustice for AHS?

SUSANNA AIGA
TINA CHEN
Opinions Editors

Attracting attention from ABC News, CNN and Pasadena Star News has always been a dream of ours. It was lovely to be greeted by cameras being shoved in our faces and having newscasters ask about a situation that we know as much about as their correspondents.

On Jan. 17, Jamie Carrillo posted a video titled “A Call To My Childhood Rapist Teacher,” confronting her alleged sexual assaulter, Andrea Cardosa. In the video, Jamie reveals the identity of the school in which Cardosa formerly worked, Alhambra High School (AHS). Naturally this caused an upset within our school. Although the alleged abuse happened at Chemawa Middle School in Riverside County School District, Alhambra is receiving most of the fire.

It is true that a previous child molester should not work near children, but according to Jamie’s attorney, David Ring, Riverside County may have “passed the trash” to us in the first place. Laura Tellez-Gagliano also claims that Cardosa had “stellar recommendations,” and that a background check was conducted.

Additionally, Cardosa no longer works at AHS, and no one, as far as we know, knew about her past prior to the release of Jamie’s video.

As Moors, it is offensive to be the prime focus of this situation. AHS is neither the scene of the crime nor did Jamie attend AHS. Although AHS may have obliviously employed someone with a shady history, a school district that may have been responsible for assault on its campus seems to be more deserving of such overwhelming media attention than AHS.