Modesto teacher who left wife for student charged in '98 case

A former Modesto high school teacher who recently made headlines for leaving his wife and family for a student was arrested Friday morning and charged with sexually abusing a minor, police said.

The arrest involves a 17-year-old student whom Christopher James Hooker, 41, befriended and allegedly sexually assaulted in 1998 when he taught at Davis High School in Modesto, police said. He is being held on $50,000 bail at Stanislaus County Jail, charged with one count of oral copulation with a minor, according to police. The Modesto Bee reported that he appeared in court Friday and entered a not guilty plea.

In February, Hooker resigned from his teaching post at Enochs High School and moved in with Jordan Powers, an 18-year-old student he met while working at the school. The couple met when Powers was a freshman, but both say their relationship did not begin until months after Powers turned 18.

Detectives initially began investigating Hooker after Powers' mother reported that the teacher had an inappropriate romance with her daughter. During the investigation, police said, they found a separate victim whom Walker was allegedly involved with in 1998.

"We believe they did develop a relationship back then,” said Lt. Rick Armendariz with the Modesto Police Department.

The initial investigation remains open.

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-- Esmeralda Bermudez

Photo: Christopher James Hooker  Credit: Modesto Police Department