Crossing Guard Arrest Shocks Community

February 3, 2017

Message from the News Directors

Ricardo Portillo, 29, was arrested Thursday night for Possession of Child Pornography. Portillo is from Redondo Beach and worked as a crossing guard in Manhattan Beach, stationed on Peck Avenue. After receiving a tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, the police task force issued a search warrant for Portillo’s residence. The police did not disclose which devices were removed from Portillo’s home. Portillo was hired by a third party vendor, not directly by the MBUSD. Superintendent Mike Matthews issued a statement saying that LAPD is conducting the investigation and that MBPD is not involved. The vendor said they will hire a replacement beginning today.

“Our investigation is continuing and right now it does not involve any victims in the South Bay, but we are continuing the investigation,” says Detective Gilbert M. Escontrias. He also encourages anyone who has felt threatened or uncomfortable around anyone in our community, to reach out to him and the LAPD. You can find Detective Escontrias’ contact information below.

News like this hits close to home for us, as we are concerned that a man accused of such things interacts with many children in our district every day. Although we condemn to the fullest this behavior from anyone, we feel it is important that we understand that this type of profile is not to be portrayed on all crossing guards in our district.

Yesterday, we aired a story featuring a few of the crossing guards that protect the children in our district. Robert Portillo was not one of the crossing guards that we talked to, and we had no way of knowing what he was partaking in. Our story was a feature on how this job is so important to these crossing guards, and how they are willing to put themselves out in front of traffic to protect children crossing the street. We encourage you to watch the story if you have not seen it, as it shows the true heart of the crossing guards working in our district.