Glendale Special Education Assistant Arrested on Suspicion of Child Sex Abuse
GLENDALE, CA — “On December 19, 2025, Glendale Police Department officers responded to a report involving a student who disclosed sexual abuse by an agency-contracted special education assistant at a Glendale elementary school. The incident involved an 8-year-old special needs student and occurred on school grounds.
Detectives immediately initiated an investigation that revealed evidence corroborating the reported crime.
On December 20, 2025, Glendale Police arrested the suspect, identified as 25-year-old Joseph Vladimir Sanchez of Glendale, on charges related to lewd acts with a child and sexual acts with a child under 14 years of age. Following his arrest, Sanchez posted bail and was scheduled to appear for arraignment on February 4, 2026.
Detectives continued their investigation and successfully identified and located two additional underage victims. The newly developed evidence was presented to the court on February 4, 2026, at Sanchez’s arraignment, where he was ordered back into custody. He is currently being held on $6,000,000 bail.
The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office has filed the following charges against Sanchez: two counts of California Penal Code (PC) 288.7, three counts of PC 288(b), two counts of PC 288(a), and one count of PC 311.11.
At the time of this incident, Sanchez was a contracted special education assistant from Covelo Group and assigned to Columbus Elementary School and Glenoaks Elementary School. He was not an employee of the Glendale Unified School District or City of Glendale.
Glendale Police Department detectives are actively seeking additional victims or witnesses related to these incidents involving Sanchez. The investigation has led detectives to believe there may be additional victims dating back as far as three years. The Glendale Unified School District is cooperating fully and has offered its support in assisting with identifying potential victims and witnesses.
Anyone with information related to this case is encouraged to contact the Glendale Police Department Assaults Bureau at 818-548-4840.”
