South Lake Tahoe high school teacher arrested on sexual misconduct charges

A South Lake Tahoe high school teacher is in jail Thursday on suspicion of sexual misconduct accused of making sexual advances on multiple students in his classes.

Nathan Crnich, 39, was taken into custody by South Lake Tahoe police on suspicion of annoying or molesting a child. He is being held in El Dorado County custody in lieu of $150,000 bail, according to a South Lake Tahoe Police Department news release.

Crnich is a career technical education instructor at the campus, according to the Tahoe Daily Tribune. He has been on administrative leave since last month, police officials said, after school staffers told an on-campus school resource officer of a teacher who they said was inappropriately touching students in class.

Police investigators later found “three, and a possible fourth student” who reported the inappropriate conduct, according to the Thursday release.

The investigators, working with El Dorado County District Attorney’s Office investigators determined the teacher was suspected of “multiple inappropriate interactions with students,” officials said Thursday.

Crnich was profiled in the South Lake Tahoe newspaper in 2018. The woodworking instructor led his class in building a shed, teaching the skills for potential careers in the construction industry.

“They’re learning work ethic, peer collaboration and how to work together to accomplish one goal,” Crnich told the Daily Tribune.

Crnich’s information has since been removed from the school’s website.

South Lake Tahoe police say they are continuing to actively investigate the alleged misconduct. Anyone with information is asked to call South Lake Tahoe police at 530-542-6100.