West
California 'Teacher of the Year' sentenced to 30 years for sexual abuse of students
A former California “Teacher of the Year” was sentenced on Friday to 30 years in prison for sexually abusing two of her sixth-grade students.
Jacqueline Ma, 36, pleaded guilty in February to two counts of forcible lewd acts on a child, one count of lewd acts on a child and one count of possessing child sexual abuse material, the San Diego County District Attorney’s Office said in a news release.
“This defendant violated the trust she had with her students in the most extreme and traumatic way possible and her actions are despicable,” District Attorney Summer Stephan said. “Her victims will have to deal with a lifetime of negative effects and her 30-year sentence is appropriate.”
Ma taught at Lincoln Acres Elementary School in National City and was the former San Diego County “Teacher of the Year” for the 2022-2023 school year.
LUXURY REAL ESTATE MOGULS HIT WITH NEW ALLEGATIONS IN SEX TRAFFICKING CASE
Jacqueline Ma, a “Teacher of the Year” in California, was sentenced on Friday to 30 years in prison after pleading guilty to charges related to sexually assaulting two of her students. (LinkedIn)
Ma was allowed to address the public before the judge handed down her sentence, the San Diego Union-Tribune reported.
“I abused my authority, I exerted my power and control over them, and I deceived them,” Ma said while handcuffed and crying in court. “Boys this age should be playing outside, feeling carefree … I ripped away their childhood.”
Ma apologized to the victims and their families, calling her crimes selfish and that she had “disgraced the teaching profession.”
“I lied to their faces while secretly abusing their sons,” Ma said. “I just pray for extra protection and strength for all those (affected).”
Ma was arrested in March 2023 after the parents of a 12-year-old boy found inappropriate messages on a family tablet between their son and the teacher, prosecutors said.
Ma had groomed young boys with “gifts, food and special attention and even completed their homework for them,” the district attorney’s office said.
Ma was arrested in March 2023 after prosecutors said the parents of a 12-year-old boy discovered inappropriate messages on a family tablet between their son and Ma.
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Despite the boy’s parents not allowing him to have social media or his own electronics, Ma was able to communicate with him through an unsanctioned after-school program and through a school chat application, the district attorney’s office said.
Ma groomed the boy for over a year before she sexually assaulted him in her classroom over a period of three months while his parents believed he was participating in an after-school basketball program, prosecutors said.
Ma sexually assaulted a 12-year-old boy in her classroom at Lincoln Acres Elementary School in National City over a period of three months, prosecutors said. (Google Street View)
Further investigation into Ma revealed that she had targeted and sexually assaulted a second victim, an 11-year-old boy, in 2020, according to the district attorney’s office.
“No child deserves what this defendant did and I hope this sentence brings a measure of justice to the victims, their families and the community that was left reeling from this defendant’s crimes,” Stephan said.
Ma must serve the full 30 years before she is eligible for parole, the Union-Tribune reported.
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San Francisco, CA
Audit says San Francisco Zoo spent $12M without required approval
SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) — According to a new audit, the San Francisco Zoo violated city rules by spending $12 million on projects without required approval.
The report looks at the zoo’s finances from 2019 to last year. It claims the zoo was operating under a budget deficit for years while dealing with failures in management and financial planning.
Zoo officials must get permission from the city’s Park and Rec Commission for projects worth more than $50,000.
The report also details claims from zoo employees, saying the zoo has a toxic work environment because of favoritism and discrimination.
KRON4 received the below statement from the zoo’s CEO.
We appreciate the thorough work of the audit team and welcome recommendations that will strengthen the Zoo’s operations and long-term sustainability. Many improvements are already underway, and we are committed to implementing the remaining recommendations. We are grateful to the Mayor, Supervisor Melgar, and Rec and Park for working with us on a responsible loan structure that gives the Zoo the ability to continue this progress and fully deliver on the audit’s recommendations.
San Francisco Zoo CEO Cassandra Costello
The zoo is facing a more than $6 million budget deficit.
Denver, CO
Hunter Lawrence wins Denver Supercross, heads to finale one point behind Ken Roczen
Ken Roczen led Hunter Lawrence into Round 16 at Empower Field at Mile High in Denver with a four-point advantage and a newly acquired red plate. With Lawrence’s win and the reduction of three points, the two riders head to Salt Lake City in a winner-take-all scenario.
Lawrence won his heat, while Roczen finished third in Heat 2.
Lawrence took the feature lead early, and once he sniffed clean air, he steadily increased his gap on second.
“It’s good,” Lawrence told Peacock’s Will Christien. “[At the] five-second board, I’m just so excited. Let’s go out, have fun, and do what I love to do. It couldn’t have been much better than that.”
Lawrence cut the championship deficit to a single point heading into the season finale. The two riders each have five victories.
If Lawrence and Roczen manage to tie in points, which will happen if they finish in the middle of the pack with Lawrence on spot ahead of Roczen, the tiebreaker would come down to second-place results. Lawrence finished second five times early in the season; Roczen has two runner-up results.
Meanwhile, Roczen had a modest start and had to come through the pack. Once he settled into second, he lost the tow of the leader, and ultimately lost more than 12 seconds to Lawrence.
Returning from an injury suffered in Cleveland, Eli Tomac thrilled the hometown crowd with the final podium position. He stalled his bike in sand in the opening laps but executed Beast Mode in the middle stage of the feature.
Fourth-place Malcolm Stewart and Chase Sexton rounded out the top five.
In-Race Notes
Jorge Prado earned the holeshot, but Lawrence took the lead quickly.
Roczen slotted into fourth on the opening lap. There is a five-point gap between first and third in Supercross scoring.
But Roczen secured second from Prado on Lap 3, and trimmed three points from the gap.
Roczen lost 4.5 seconds to Lawrence as he made his way into second.
The third title contender, Cooper Webb, took third from Prado on Lap 5.
Lawrence had the flow in the opening laps. He extended his lead to 6.2 seconds on Lap 7.
Tomac stalled in the sand and fell outside the top five, but found his rhythm and climbed to fourth on Lap 8. Webb lost a position to Prado earlier in that lap.
Lawrence was on a rail, forcing Roczen to ride on the edge of his comfort zone.
A little further back in the field, Justin Barcia was sixth on Lap 10 in his second race back.
Tomac secured third from Prado on Lap 12.
Roczen fell to eight seconds behind on Lap 13. Eight minutes remained on the clock.
The top three settled into a rhythm with seven minutes on the clock. The gap between them was slowly widening.
Cooper and Dylan Ferrandis tangled while challenging for sixth.
One lap later, Webb tangled with Jorge Prado, and both riders lost momentum. Webb hit the dirt and dropped outside the top 10. That ended his dim hope of securing a fourth Supercross championship.
Malcolm Stewart moved into fifth.
One lap later, Stewart grabbed fourth from Sexton.
In all the chaos, Justin Barcia (eighth) climbed into the top 10 in his second race after returning from a scary crash in the season opener at Angel Stadium in Anaheim, California.
Seattle, WA
Seattle Mariners’ Raleigh day-to-day with ‘general soreness’
Seattle Mariners slugger Cal Raleigh is day-to-day with “general soreness” after being pulled from the lineup before Saturday’s game, manager Dan Wilson told reporters after a 3-2 loss in 10 innings against the Kansas City Royals.
Wilson said Raleigh underwent imaging, though he did not specify what on, and the team will assess their star catcher’s status Sunday.
“We’re trying to be as cautious as possible,” Wilson said.
Raleigh was originally slated to start at catcher and bat second in the middle game of the three-game series, but he was scratched from the lineup about 90 minutes before first pitch.
Mitch Garver got the start in place of Raleigh and went 1 for 4 at the plate and struck out three times, including to lead off the 10th inning.
Saturday’s game was the first Raleigh has missed this season. He had started 32 of the previous 33, including 25 at catcher, and came in as a pinch-hitter in the only game he didn’t start.
Raleigh is batting .186 with a .652 OPS, seven homers and four doubles this season. He has hit five home runs in his past 10 games.
Raleigh finished as the American League MVP runner-up during a record-setting campaign in 2025. He led baseball with 60 home runs, setting single-season MLB records for most home runs by a catcher and switch-hitter, as well as the Mariners’ single-season homer mark. Raleigh also drove in an AL-best 125 RBIs while hitting .247 with a .948 OPS.
The Mariners added a third catcher to their 26-man roster shortly after Raleigh was scratched from the lineup. Jhonny Pereda was called up from Triple-A Tacoma and infielder Will Wilson was placed on the 10-day injured list with fractured left thumb.
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