Amanda Quinonez is a former Eleanor Roosevelt High School teacher and water polo coach in Eastvale, California, who pleaded guilty on March 16, 2026, to seven criminal charges for sexually abusing an underage male student, including felony lewd acts with a child under 15, sexual penetration with a foreign object, and oral copulation with a minor.1Press-Enterprise. Former High School Teacher in Eastvale Admits Molesting Student
The 2022 Arrest
Riverside County sheriff’s deputies arrested Quinonez, then 30, at Eleanor Roosevelt High School on April 12, 2022. The school had contacted law enforcement after learning of a possible “inappropriate relationship” between her and a male student.2Los Angeles Times. Riverside County Teacher Arrested on Suspicion of Sending Explicit Photos to Student She was released the next day on $50,000 bail.
Prosecutors initially filed three counts: one felony count of lewd acts with a child, one felony count of distributing harmful material to a minor, and one misdemeanor count of child molestation.3Press-Enterprise. Eastvale Teacher Arrested on Suspicion of Lewd Acts With Student The harmful material, according to prosecutors, consisted of “explicit photos of a sexual nature.”4Press-Enterprise. Ex-Eleanor Roosevelt Principal Could Have Charge of Failing to Report Possible Child Abuse Dismissed
Who She Was at the School
The Corona-Norco Unified School District hired Quinonez in 2016. She taught language arts and coached boys’ and girls’ water polo and swimming, though by 2022 she was listed only as the girls’ water polo coach.2Los Angeles Times. Riverside County Teacher Arrested on Suspicion of Sending Explicit Photos to Student5New York Post. LA Teacher Engaged in Lewd Acts With Male Student
What She Pleaded Guilty To
Almost four years after the arrest, Quinonez entered guilty pleas in Riverside County Superior Court on March 16, 2026, to seven charges:1Press-Enterprise. Former High School Teacher in Eastvale Admits Molesting Student6Patch. Former Riverside County Teacher Pleads Guilty in Sex With Student Case
- One felony count of lewd acts on a child under 15
- Two felony counts of sexual penetration with a foreign object
- Two felony counts of providing harmful matter to a child
- One felony count of oral copulation with a minor
- One misdemeanor count of annoying or molesting a child
The “under 15” count indicates the victim was younger than 15 when the offenses occurred, though his exact age has not been publicly disclosed, and his identity has not been released.6Patch. Former Riverside County Teacher Pleads Guilty in Sex With Student Case
Sentencing and Current Status
Sentencing was scheduled for May 29, 2026, before Superior Court Judge Joshlyn Pulliam at the Riverside Hall of Justice.1Press-Enterprise. Former High School Teacher in Eastvale Admits Molesting Student Court minutes did not publish a prospective prison term at the time of the plea.6Patch. Former Riverside County Teacher Pleads Guilty in Sex With Student Case As of March 2026, Quinonez remained free on the $50,000 bond posted after her arrest.7MyNewsLA. Ex-Eastvale Teacher Admits Engaging in Sex Acts With Her Student Her California teaching credential has been suspended.
Part of a Wider Pattern at the School
The Quinonez case was one of several staff sexual abuse matters at Eleanor Roosevelt High School. In September 2020, former teacher and track coach Joe Robles Jr. was convicted of multiple felony sex crimes against students, including statutory rape and sexual battery, for abuse between 2014 and 2017; he is serving a four-year state prison sentence.4Press-Enterprise. Ex-Eleanor Roosevelt Principal Could Have Charge of Failing to Report Possible Child Abuse Dismissed Theater director Chad Costello was arrested in November 2023 on charges of child annoyance and sexual battery. The school’s principal, Greg Anderson, was arrested in February 2024 for allegedly failing to report allegations against Costello to law enforcement, as California’s mandatory reporting laws require.8ABC7. Eastvale Principal Arrested, Eleanor Roosevelt High School Mandatory Reporting
In April 2022, five former students sued the Corona-Norco Unified School District and Robles, alleging the district “turned a blind eye” to his misconduct and citing Quinonez’s arrest weeks earlier as evidence of a “pattern and practice of entirely inadequate supervision.” That lawsuit settled in 2024.9Press-Enterprise. Former Corona-Norco Students Sue School District, Former Coach Convicted of Sexual Assault After the arrests, the district adopted a new student boundary policy, updated its mandatory reporting procedures, and provided in-person training to high school staff and administrators on student-teacher boundaries.4Press-Enterprise. Ex-Eleanor Roosevelt Principal Could Have Charge of Failing to Report Possible Child Abuse Dismissed