Educator charged after sex assault confrontation lands on YouTube

RIVERSIDE, Calif. — A California educator who was confronted by a former student on a YouTube video seen hundreds of thousands of times was charged Monday with 16 counts of sexual abuse, prosecutors said.

Andrea Cardosa, 40, was charged with five counts of aggravated sexual assault on a child and 11 other counts of abuse, the Riverside County District Attorney’s office said in a statement.

Cardosa’s lawyer, Randy Collins, said he couldn’t immediately comment as he had not yet been advised by prosecutors of the charges.

The case came to light after a now 28-year-old woman posted a video on YouTube last month showing her making a call to confront Cardosa about the abuse allegations that she said began when she was 12.

The video also was sent to the Alhambra Unified School District, where Cardosa was working as an assistant principal. Officials referred the case to police, and Cardosa resigned.

The video was viewed nearly 1 million times just days after it was posted on YouTube, and a second alleged victim later came forward.

A $5 million warrant has been issued for Cardosa’s arrest, the district attorney’s office said. If Cardosa is convicted, the five aggravated sexual assault charges could carry a life sentence, the statement said.

Fifteen of the counts stem from allegations of abuse against the woman who posted the YouTube video, and one stems from abuse allegations related to the second woman.