Visalia Teachers Face Abuse Charges

Visalia Unified School District is grappling with allegations of child abuse involving two employees. Lacie Ann Horsting, a 36-year-old former employee, has been charged with 10 misdemeanor offenses for allegedly inflicting "unjustifiable physical pain and mental suffering" on a student between August 2024 and June 2025. The school district confirmed that Horsting was immediately removed from her classroom once they became aware of the situation.

In a separate incident, 50-year-old substitute teacher Enrique Serrano was taken into custody on Wednesday. Police responded to La Joya Middle School following a report that Serrano had allegedly grabbed a student. He was booked on felony child abuse charges. Serrano has been a substitute teacher with the district since the fall of the previous year. The district emphasized its robust hiring processes and disappointment in the alleged actions, which they state do not represent their thousands of employees.