Case against Clovis West teacher being charged with lewd acts with minor moving faster than expected

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- Pete Arguijo agrees with a Fresno County judge that he will waive his right to a hearing to determine his charges at trial.

"Your honor, I've had discussions with the prosecutor and my client and I believe we're going to, if it's agreeable with the District Attorney, waive the preliminary hearing," said Roger Wilson, defense attorney.

The popular Clovis West High School math teacher was arrested back in July after a tip came in to the Fresno Police Department. He's facing one felony count of lewd acts with a minor.

The victim is not a student.

Arguijo's attorney said they thought it was in their best interest to skip the hearing and go straight to trial.

"I was told by the prosecutor that the only witness that would be testifying today would be the law enforcement officer and so, based on that, we made the decision to waive the preliminary examination," said Wilson.

Arguijo's wife is standing by him as he faces the serious charges. His attorney said he remains an employee of Clovis Unified but is on administrative leave.

"He's not teaching right now because of this case, it's pending and so he's not teaching," said Wilson.

Wilson said his client wants to proceed with the case as fast as possible.

"He's happy with the decision to go forward because he'd like to get to trial, or not if we can resolve it we'd like to do it as well. It's very stressful for him, very stressful for his family, they would like to try to resolve this and get it behind them as soon as possible."

A criminal protective order is in place to prevent Arguijo from contacting the victim. He will back in court next month to enter a plea on the felony charge.