Ex-teacher apparently kills self during molestation trial

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Authorities say a retired Southern California junior high school teacher charged with molesting five students has apparently killed himself in the midst of his trial.

The Orange County Sheriff’s Department says 68-year-old David Michael Bruce was found dead Wednesday at his home in the Anaheim area.

Bruce was a drama teacher at Sycamore Junior High School in Anaheim. He was arrested in 2015. Prosecutors contended that over a 15-year period beginning in 1996, he fondled the buttocks of five male students.

He was arrested in 2015 and charged with committing lewd acts on children.

Bruce, who was free on bail, failed to show up in court for closing arguments in his 11-day-old trial. He’d faced a possible life sentence if convicted but prosecutors have now dismissed the case.