L.A. teacher obsessed over and abused teen student, authorities say: ‘Her crystal meth’

A Los Angeles Unified School District teacher became so obsessed with a middle school student she’s accused of sexually abusing that she left her husband, described the boy as her “crystal meth” and said she was willing to “go to jail for him,” a prosecutor said in court Tuesday.

Colleen Jo Matarico, 43, was arrested last week and charged with seven counts of committing lewd acts on a boy she met when he was 12, authorities said. The alleged sexual abuse lasted more than a year, according to a criminal complaint. Matarico is also accused of giving cannabis to the boy. Last week, Los Angeles police said the teacher “groomed” him.

“The accusations against Ms. Matarico are deeply disturbing and violate the trust that was placed in her by the students, their families, and the entire community,” Los Angeles County Dist. Atty. George Gascón said in a statement last week. “I want to acknowledge the courage of the young victim and his decision to report the abuse.”

Matarico pleaded not guilty during a downtown L.A. court appearance Tuesday. After her attorney asked a judge to free her without bail, Deputy Dist. Atty. Ariel Anson spoke in detail about the alleged abuse, claiming to have text messages showing Matarico had no intentions of stopping the relationship if released.

Anson said Matarico began engaging in an inappropriate relationship with the student when he turned 13. Much of the alleged abuse took place between August and November of 2023, according to the complaint.

Staff at John Burroughs Middle School first received concerning reports about Mataricio last October and immediately contacted Los Angeles police, according to a statement issued by the school’s principal and provided to The Times by an LAUSD spokesman.

Anson said the initial investigation did not turn up enough evidence to corroborate the alleged victim’s claims, but court records show two of the eight counts against Matarico describe more recent conduct. After she learned police were investigating, Matarico’s conduct toward the boy became “more severe,” Anson said.

In recent days, Anson said, Matarico drove to the student’s new high school and waited for him in her car, where they allegedly had another sexual interaction. Anson also accused Matarico of contacting a third party, one of the student’s friends, via direct message on Instagram in order to continue communicating with the boy.

In text messages described by Anson, Matarico allegedly said she was in love with the teen, that she had left her husband because of the relationship, and that he was “the only person she would go to jail for.”

“He is her crystal meth,” Anson said, referring to the purported text messages she had sent using that language. Anson argued the boy would not be safe if Matarico was released from jail.

Anson described Matarico as “separated” from her husband. The teacher was arrested on Nov. 7, according to the LAUSD statement.

“Multiple people in her family have pleaded with her, asked for her to stop the relationship [with the boy],” Anson said in court.

Anson did not directly present evidence of the texts in court on Tuesday. L.A. County Public Defender Carlos Bido, argued that the teacher should be released on house arrest with electronic monitoring.

Matarico has no prior criminal record, according to Bido. She has two children and grandchildren she takes care of, and has served as a teacher in the area for 24 years, Bido said.

“Ms. Matarico is cooperating fully with the legal process and is prepared to address these serious allegations in court,” Bido told The Times in a statement. “We ask the public to respect the presumption of innocence and to refrain from speculation as we work to gather all relevant facts.”

L.A. County Superior Court Judge Susan J. De Witt declined to release Matarico, who remains jailed in lieu of $590,000. She is due back in court in late November.

In a news release issued last week, the Los Angeles Police Department said it was searching for additional victims. Anson said she could not comment on whether anyone else had made accusations against Matarico.

An LAUSD spokesman did not disclose Matarico’s employment status since the arrest, though Bido described her as “on leave” in court.

De Witt also granted a request for a protective order barring Matarico from speaking to the teen or going near his home or new school, which the judge did not identify in open court to protect the student’s identity.