Clovis West High teacher arrested for lewd acts with a child

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- A Clovis West teacher spent several hours in jail Friday, accused of sex crimes with a teenage girl.

Pete Arguijo, 40, was booked on one count of lewd acts with a minor.

Investigators say the victim is not a Clovis West student.

Detectives believe the crime happened a few months ago. So far, it appears this was a single incident.

Investigators say it does not seem to be tied to the school at all and happened away from campus.

Fresno Police say a tip Thursday led them to the Clovis West math teacher.

"He was cooperative," Sgt. Mark Hudson with the Fresno Police Department said. "Certainly, at this point, we're still doing the investigation making sure we have all the information we need to move forward with this case with the district attorney's office."

Detectives are not revealing much about the circumstances around the arrest and how Arguijo knows the teenage girl.

According to the charges, she is under 15 years old.

Students on campus Friday said they were in disbelief when they got a breaking news alert about the arrest of Arguijo.

"He is a good math teacher," senior Amit Randhawa said. "He knows his stuff, he knows how to teach and he's just he's very nice. He's just a genuine guy. He is very open, he is very friendly. If anyone ever had a problem they could come up to him and talk to him about anything they wanted. He is a good guy."

Many students even went so far as to say he was one of their favorite teachers.

Right now, detectives say there is no indication of misconduct "on the job." But even so, Arguijo has been placed on leave by Clovis Unified School District.

A spokesperson for the district said, in part, "the arrest is deeply concerning to the school and district administration and will be treated with the utmost seriousness."

Fresno Police won't even say where the alleged crime occurred. But detectives showed up to Arguijo's Fresno home Thursday with plenty to ask.

Investigators say his exposure to teenagers has prompted even more questions.

"Because he is a teacher, we want to make sure that there's no other victims at that school," Hudson said.