A former California high school teacher was charged last week with sex crimes against a minor, three years after he was found in the bedroom of a 16-year-old student.

Enochs High School Band teacher Patrick Mester was fired in March 2021 after he was arrested for inappropriate communication with the then-16-year-old student. Seven months later, the girl’s mother found Mester in her daughter’s bedroom.

It’s not clear why Mester was arrested at that point, but the Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Office said it had been working with the distric attorney’s office since that time. The DA’s Office finally issued a warrant for his arrest on Wednesday on charges of lewd acts with a minor and attempted to meet with a minor for lewd purposes. He’s being held on a $650,000 bond.

The sheriff’s office told SFGate that the delay was because of  “active and ongoing investigations involving our victim.”

“Serious cases like this need to be carefully built over time,” the office said in an email.

Mester, 65, is originally from Michigan and worked in Modesto City Schools since 2003 until he was fired, according to the Modesto Bee.

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[Featured image: Patrick Mester/Modesto Police Department]