Defense calls teachers in molest case

Joshua Levine, a fourthgrade teacher on trial for misdemeanor inappropriate touching of four female students during the 2014-15 school year, was a ”fun” and “fantastic” teacher shut out by an “all-girl” clique of female teachers at Castaic Elementary School, according to teachers and teaching specialists who testified Thursday.

At least three teachers testified at the Santa Clarita Courthouse Thursday as Levine’s attorney called his first witnesses for the defense.

Retired teaching resource specialist Melissa Norwood told the jury she worked with Levine at Castaic Elementary School for at least a decade, calling him “a fantastic teacher.”

When asked about one of the teachers who testified against Levine this week, Norwood said: “To me, it felt like reverse discrimination against him. He was the only male teacher and all the other teachers were female.

“It was an all-girls club at the school and they didn’t pull him in,” Norwood said. “They didn’t invite him on outings, to go out for food and drinks, or for baby showers.

“These women were a club and he wasn’t a part of that,” she said.

“He is a great teacher,” she said. “One of the very few teachers willing to work with special needs kids. A lot of teachers don’t want them; they want normal kids. But he never singled them out.

“He validated them, and for that he was a fantastic teacher.”

Norwood, who worked for several years as a resource specialist assistant, often spent two hours of every school day, on average, in Levine’s classroom, she said.

“I had my daughter put in his class,” she said. “I handpicked him so that she could be in his class.”

Deputy District Attorney Julie Kramer asked Norwood if she had ever seen Levine touch a student on the thigh while sitting on his lap. She said: “No. I don’t think I did.

Kramer asked her if she ever saw Levine getting a massage from a student in class. Norwood said: “Never.”

Then Kramer asked a series of hypothetical questions, including: “Would your opinion of Levine change if you witnessed him tickling a child?”

Norwood answered: “I would want to know what the circumstances were.”

At one point during her testimony, Norwood reflected on the trial and the accusations against Levine. “This whole thing sickens me,” she said.

Teacher Jane Bates told the jury that Levine was an advocate for involvement in the teachers’ union.

“He wanted them to know what they were voting for,” Bates said. “He was very passionate about that.”

Bates was also asked if she saw Levine being massaged in class. “No,” she said. She asked Bates if she saw students sitting in his lap. Again she said: “No.”

Bates said if she ever saw a female sitting on Levine’s lap, she would have reported him.

The trial resumes today.