Luke Ford

KTLA reports Sep. 24:

Police are looking for possible other victims of a high school counselor in West Los Angeles who is accused of sexually abusing a 16-year-old boy.

Julie Tichon, 37, committed a “series of sexual assaults” against the teen in February and March of this year, the Los Angeles Police Department said in a news release.

Tichon faces three counts of sexual intercourse with a minor and one count of oral copulation with a person under the age of 18. She’s due back in court on Nov. 1.

Before the alleged assaults were discovered, Tichon worked as a school counselor at YULA Los Angeles, which describes itself as a “Modern Orthodox Yeshiva High School” on its website.

“The suspect used her position of responsibility to gain these victims’ trust, then began inappropriate sexual relationships with them,” Detective Russ Hess said in the LAPD release. “Rather than advising them, she was abusing them.”

If convicted as charged, Tichon could be sentenced to up to five years in prison, though police believe there could be more victims, which “could potentially add to the criminal case.”

The Los Angeles Times reports Sep. 21:

As of February, Tichon was listed online as a guidance staff member at the boy’s division of YULA High School, an Orthodox Jewish school in the Pico-Robertson neighborhood, according to an archived webpage. Her name no longer appears in the current online staff directory.

On May, 28, YULA Head of School Rabbi Arye Sufrin sent an email notifying parents that he had received reports of a female staff member having “an inappropriate relationship of a sexual nature” with two male students, according to reporting from the Forward. Sufrin said the school had shared this information with the Los Angeles Police Department and that the staff member was no longer on campus.

“It is impossible to comprehend and beyond devastating that students would be facing this situation,” Sufrin wrote.

I was tipped off to this story in early May but didn’t pursue it. A younger me would have jumped on the story.

From an archived version of the YULA boys administration info web page:

Born and raised in Los Angeles, Julie earned her B.S. from Baylor University in Waco, Texas and her M.A. in Sports Management and Human Performance from the University of Alabama. Julie’s role at YULA is working with students who need short or long-term academic support. With over twelve years of experience working in both high school and collegiate athletic settings, Julie has developed a unique understanding of the importance of providing students an environment where they are challenged to learn and grow within a supportive, encouraging, and consistent community. Julie loves surrounding herself with friends and family, cooking, sports, animals (especially her dog, Winnie), spending time outdoors, and traveling.

Julie Tichon is the one in the center with long hair and a long dress.