Former Templeton teaching assistant sentenced for committing lewd acts on children
An Atascadero man who once worked as a special education assistant for the Templeton Unified School District was sentenced to 12 years and eight months in prison for committing lewd acts with minors, the San Luis Obispo County District Attorney’s Office announced Tuesday.
Timothy Patrick Prendeville, 56, originally faced seven felony charges of lewd acts with kids — five with children under 14 — as well as one misdemeanor count of indecent exposure.
On Tuesday, Prendeville, an Irish citizen, was convicted of five of those felony charges and the indecent exposure charge, according to a District Attorney’s Office news release.
The charges all ranged from incidents that took place between 2011 and 2019, according to the release.
Two of Prendeville’s victims were well known to him, according to the release, and the third had been invited into his home as a guest of the family.
“Our hearts break for the survivors because of the abuse they had to endure. Any person who preys on vulnerable children must face strong consequences,” District Attorney Dan Dow said in the release. “Mr. Prendeville betrayed numerous children who were close to him and now stands convicted of three ‘strikes’ under California’s Three Strikes Law. After serving his prison term, pursuant to current federal law, he should then be deported out of the United States.”
Prendeville is a former special education assistant and paraeducator with Templeton Unified School District, according to Transparent California, a public database of state employees salaries, including public school teachers and educators.
In October 2021, the district confirmed to The Tribune that Prendeville worked there between 2012 and 2018.
According to a statement, the district was approached by Atascadero police in 2018 regarding an investigation into Prendeville “concerning alleged events outside of school that did not involve students of the district.”
Upon learning of the investigation, the district removed Prendeville from working with students, and soon after, his employment was terminated.
“The district reiterates that at no time were the criminal offenses for which he was convicted associated with any TUSD students, nor related to his employment at TUSD,” read the statement.
Prendeville is now required to register as a sex offender for life, according to the District Attorney’s Office news release.
This story was originally published February 2, 2022 at 9:00 AM.
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