High school teacher Michael Cardoza befriended several of his current and former students before making sexual advances and taking naked pictures of them, according to prosecution testimony Wednesday during his trial on molestation and related charges.

Cardoza's trial got under way Tuesday in Santa Barbara County Superior Court in Santa Maria, with opening statements and testimony from the teenage boy he is accused of molesting two years ago.

Cardoza, 59, allegedly molested the boy two years ago when he was 16 and had been his student at Pioneer Valley High School in Santa Maria.

The alleged victim's testimony continued Wednesday. He was referred to in court as “John Doe” to protect his identity. Other prosecution witnesses took the stand throughout the afternoon.

The defendant, who remained free on bail, is on unpaid administrative leave from the Santa Maria Joint Union High School District pending the outcome of the charges against him.

Cardoza, who also previously taught at Santa Maria High School, is facing various charges, including felony forcible oral copulation and misdemeanor sexual exploitation of a child.

He was arrested on June 21, 2006, at his Orcutt home, where a search warrant was served and evidence was seized.

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The trial, expected to last seven to 10 days, was set to resume Friday.

During questioning from Deputy District Attorney Stephen Foley and Cardoza's attorney, Michael Scott; the alleged victim said that he was in Cardoza's algebra class at Pioneer Valley in 2006, and that the teacher began to mentor him.

Cardoza would take him out to lunch, Doe said, and buy groceries for his financially struggling family.

On June 16, 2006, Cardoza showed the boy pornography on his computer, and took explicit nude photos of him as he posed for the camera, Doe testified. He said that Cardoza masturbated as he took pictures of him. Doe said he gave Cardoza oral sex.

At some point, the boy testified, he told Cardoza he wanted to go home, and the teacher responded, “It's a long walk to Santa Maria.”

The alleged victim said he was extremely afraid, and felt too intimidated to leave the defendant's house.

When Scott asked Doe about explicit photos of him that were allegedly taken by Cardoza, and placed the photos on the overhead projector before the jury, Doe acknowledged he was smiling in one shot.

“He told me to smile for the picture,” he said.

Doe also said during Scott's cross-examination that he had been in various mental-health facilities and was on the drug Prozac.

Doe said he had a reputation for being dramatic, and was prone to exaggeration. At one point, he testified, he told people a lie that he was involved in a sexual relationship with a business associate of his father.

Foley projected pages from the alleged victim's diary on the overhead screen, and showed the jury a sticky note with Cardoza's name and a phone number that Doe said was in the defendant's writing.

Doe read aloud from the diary a section in which “I got raped by Mr. Cardoza” was written.

He explained that he used the word “rape” because he felt violated.

A 24-year-old man who was the last witness to take the stand Wednesday told of similar advances by Cardoza when he was 18 and had just graduated from Santa Maria High School, where he was Cardoza's student.

The man said Cardoza was “definitely” a good teacher, role model and mentor.

He said he suffered from bouts of depression, and the teacher helped him through these times.

The witness said he visited Cardoza's house at least 20 times, and that the defendant made sexual advances towards him between two and 10 times.

“I try not to remember those certain moments of my life,” he said.

The man said he kept going to the teacher's house because he was lonely. At times, Cardoza provided him with financial support, he said.

The witness said he asked Cardoza to stop when he made sexual advances, and sometimes the defendant proceeded to try to touch him sexually despite his objections.

The witness said he watched pornography with Cardoza at times, and that the defendant took nude photos of him, saying they were for his girlfriend.

The jury was shown naked and sexually explicit photos of the witness, which the witness testified were taken by Cardoza at the defendant's house.

Samantha Yale can be reached at 739-2159 or syale@santamaria times.com.

June 12, 2008