Upland YMCA teacher pleads guilty to molestation, gets 3 years in prison

An Upland YMCA teacher accused of touching a 4-year-old boy's genitals agreed to plead guilty to one count of felony child molestation Monday in West Valley Superior Court.

Garrett Wayne Ammon, 30, of Rancho Cucamonga, will be sentenced to three years in state prison on Feb. 10, said Deputy District Attorney Karen Schmauss.

Ammon initially faced two felony counts of lewd act on a child under 14 years old. One count will be dismissed as part of Ammon's plea agreement, Schmauss said.

Schmauss said Ammon will have to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life as a result of his conviction.

"His career as a preschool teacher is over forever, as it should be," Schmauss said.

A 4-year-old boy in one of Ammon's classes at the Scheu Family YMCA of Upland told police that Ammon touched his genitals in the classroom and in the school's bathroom.

When he was arrested on Dec. 12, Ammon told police he abused the boy on at least seven different occasions.

"I was curious, but I knew it would end up bad and knew it was wrong," Ammon told police, according to police reports in Ammon's case file.

Before his arrest, Ammon had worked as a child-care teacher for nine years at various businesses.

The 4-year-old boy told police there were other students in the class who Ammon abused. Ammon denied molesting other children.

Ammon was one of two Upland schoolteachers charged with child molestation in December.

Andy Megaw is accused of inappropriately touching six students in his class of second- and third-graders at Valencia Elementary School.

Megaw, the former head of Upland's teachers' union, has pleaded not guilty to charges and is next due in court Jan. 22.