Quick Take
Dagoberto Garcia, 58, is the principal of E.A. Hall Middle School in Watsonville. He is facing multiple sexual assault charges.
The Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office arrested a principal in Pajaro Valley Unified School District for rape Thursday.
According to a media release, officers were informed of the sexual assault Tuesday, which led to the arrest of 58-year-old Dagoberto Garcia on Thursday. He is facing multiple sexual assault charges including the rape of an intoxicated woman, sexual penetration of an intoxicated person and oral copulation.
PVUSD spokesperson Alicia Jiménez confirmed that Garcia is the principal of E.A. Hall Middle School in Watsonville. She said he will be placed on paid administrative leave as the investigation is taking place, and an interim administrator will be appointed shortly.
She added that the school district could not comment further on the investigation as it is ongoing.
A LinkedIn page for someone identifying themselves as E.A. Hall principal of the same name says Garcia has “20+ years in education with most of those years as an administrator at different levels of the educational K-8 system.”
Garcia was appointed as the middle school’s principal in 2022, according to a report from August 2022 in the Pajaronian.
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