A former teacher who left his job and family to move in with an 18-year-old student has been arrested on suspicion of sexually abusing a different student more than a decade ago.
Christopher James Hooker, 41, was arrested for oral copulation with a minor he taught at a California school in the 1990s, years before he struck his relationship with current girlfriend Jordan Powers.
Police said the case stems from a 1998 relationship he had with a 17-year-old student from Davis High School in Modesto.
Hooker was arrested at his home on Friday and booked into Stanislaus County Jail.
He appeared in court where a judge set his bail at $50,000 and assigned him a public defender, according to the Modesto Bee.
Hooker requested that his bail amount be reduced, and the judge set a hearing next Tuesday to consider the matter.
Police said he made friends with the girl and later developed a romantic relationship with her.
The investigation into the incident began after Hooker announced his relationship in February with Powers, whom he taught at Enochs High School in Modesto.
He moved in with the teen in February – the same day he quit his job in the school’s business department. The teacher told police he had left his wife and their three daughters the previous week.
Together, Hooker and Powers appeared on numerous national talk shows and news interviews to maintain they did not have sexual contact until she turned 18 and their relationship was ‘real love’.
