The former teacher accused of sexually abusing a 4-year-old girl at Childswork Learning Center, a Southeast Portland preschool, was denied bail Thursday after investigators revealed there are likely other victims.
20-year-old Yonathan Ortiz faces charges of first-degree sodomy, first-degree sexual abuse, using a child in the display of sexually explicit content and luring a minor, according to court documents.
Ortiz was arrested on Sept. 28, six months after the alleged sexual abuse took place. Childswork terminated Ortiz shortly after the initial findings from the incident in March and reported the allegations to state authorities, according to Portland police.
Detective Nathan Moore testified in court Thursday that there are eight additional students who have been referred to psychologists at a child-abuse victims organization after being asked about Ortiz by their parents and giving what the detective described as “very concerning” responses.
According to the case’s prosecutor, Deputy District Attorney Mihnea Moga, at least two of those children will likely be added to the case as victims.
The sexual abuse currently alleged took place on March 30, 2026, at the preschool’s Cherry Blossom campus. According to an affidavit filed by a Multnomah County deputy district attorney, Portland police received reports of the incident when the student was taken to Randall Children’s Hospital.
At the hospital, the student’s parents told investigators that Ortiz had shown their daughter pornography and then instructed her to perform oral sex on him at the preschool, according to court documents.
The student was later interviewed twice and described the incident similarly, prosecutors allege. The girl told investigators it happened near the preschool’s cubbies.
A warrant for Ortiz’s phone was executed that night, and detectives said in court documents that they found a photo of Ortiz sexually abusing another 4-year-old girl on March 30.
Police later tracked down the parents of the second alleged victim, but the child was unable to disclose what exactly had happened. The girl’s parents spoke in court Thursday to advocate against Ortiz’s release.
Moore, the Portland police detective, said Ortiz worked at the preschool as a substitute teacher and teacher’s aide for 2 years before the alleged incident and had also volunteered there as a high-school student prior to that.
The detective added that, despite initially believing Ortiz did not work alone with the children, he has since learned that Ortiz ran an after-school program at the preschool where he was “more or less by himself.”
Following Thursday’s hearing, Moga, the prosecutor, described the nature of Ortiz’s alleged abuse and how he took advantage of his position.
“It’s not something that you start right off the bat. It sounds like this was an ongoing pattern and he was getting bolder and bolder to the point where he slipped up and we were able to obviously find him and hold him accountable, hopefully,” Moga said.
Moga added that his office does not intend to offer Ortiz a plea deal.
“For these types of cases, we don’t make an offer,” Moga said. “The offer is, obviously, give me a reason why I shouldn’t give you the maximum amount that I can.”
Moga and investigators believe there could still be more victims who haven’t been identified. They continue to urge parents at Childswork Learning Center to talk with their children and contact Portland police with questions or concerns.
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