Educator in Viral Video Charged With Sex Abuse

'You sicken me,' former student tells Andrea Cardosa in YouTube video
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted Feb 4, 2014 3:40 AM CST
Educator Confronted on YouTube Charged With Sex Abuse
One of Cardosa's alleged victims speaks at a news conference in front of Alhambra High School in Alhambra, Calif.    (AP Photo/The Pasadena Star-News, Keith Durflinger, File)

An educator confronted via YouTube by a former student who accused her of abuse has been arrested and charged with 16 counts of child sex abuse. Andrea Michelle Cardosa quit her job as an administrator at Alhambra High School in Southern California hours after the video surfaced, CNN reports. The video was viewed more than a million times before it was taken down. When the case became public, a second woman also came forward to accuse Cardosa, a 40-year-old former teacher and vice principal, of abuse.

In the video, the first alleged victim, who is now 28, calls the school to accuse Cardosa of brainwashing her, manipulating her, and abusing her from the age of 12. "It wasn't anything I intended," a woman who says she is Cardosa tells her. "I don't even know what happened." The caller responds, "You ruined my life. You ruined my childhood. Do you realize that? You sicken me." The woman responds that she regrets it every day. It's not clear whether prosecutors will be able to use the video as evidence, the Los Angeles Times notes. Cardosa's lawyer, meanwhile, says his task is to ensure justice prevails amid "media wildfire"—and it is fortunate "our justice system requires more than a YouTube video to determine the facts of a case." (More Andrea Michelle Cardosa stories.)

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