Complaints filed against teacher

Monte Norene, the Marysville schoolteacher due to be sentenced Wednesday for possessing a stolen laptop computer, was the subject of complaints by a 16-year-old female student as well as a male teacher who told police that Norene filmed them at school with a Web camera.

Along with those complaints to police, two teachers told law enforcement that a computer Norene brought to class had images of a scantily-clad, bound and gagged woman.

Norene, 53, was arrested in connection with the stolen laptop in May at the Marysville Joint Unified School District's Alternative Education Placement Center, located at 1919 B St.

Norene, who also taught at Lindhurst High School, faced a single criminal charge of possessing the stolen laptop. He faces sentencing Wednesday after his conviction on the misdemeanor charge of possessing stolen property.

The laptop that Norene had at the Marysville facility was reported stolen from Bridge Street School in the Yuba City Unified School District. Norene told police that an unidentified friend had stolen his car as well as a separate laptop — and then gave him the computer seized by police to replace the laptop she'd stolen. Norene told police the friend was in jail.

A joint investigation by the Marysville and Yuba City police departments led to Norene's arrest at the Alternative Education Center, an independent study facility.

Defense Attorney Timothy Evans contends in a court filing that the efforts of the Marysville Police Department led to Norene being charged in Yuba and Sutter counties for possessing the stolen laptop and that the two prosecutions "were orchestrated by the same overzealous constable."

Marysville Police Chief Wallace Fullerton said of the "overzealous" claim that Norene's own actions led to the criminal conviction against the teacher. For Evans "to assert anything else is to try to deflect attention away from his client," Fullerton said. "That's an excellent tactic by defense attorneys," the police chief said. "That's the game."

Evans and Norene could not be reached for comment Monday about the criminal case — or the complaints to police by the student and teacher that Norene used a Web camera to film them in class.

Evans in his Oct. 1 court filing seeks a civil compromise in the case, available for some misdemeanor offenses after the victim acknowledges satisfactory compensation. The attorney said he seeks the compromise because the police departments of Marysville and Yuba City, as well as the two school districts, "may have more relevant demands upon their time" than the teacher credential proceedings Norene will face with a conviction.

Norene holds a teaching credential in business, according to the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing.

Contact Appeal reporter Ryan McCarthy at 749-4707 or rmc carthy@appeal-democrat.com