Teacher From Monrovia Ordered to Stand Trial on Molestation Charges

A Monrovia man accused of sexually abusing students while he was a teacher at a Duarte elementary school was ordered to stand trial on child molestation charges Tuesday.

Pasadena Superior Court Judge Stan Blumenfield ordered Wade Joseph Bughman, who pleaded not guilty to , to stand trial Tuesday following the conclusion of a preliminary hearing Tuesday, according to deputy district attorney Debra Archuleta.

A former student of Bughman's at Beardslee elementary school and said the teacher raped her when she was in his second grade classroom and threatened her to keep her quiet.

"He said, 'If you tell anybody I will kill you and I will kill your family,'" she said in court.

She also said Bughman repeatedly molested her while he was her teacher at Beardslee.

Bughman is accused of molesting seven different children at Beardslee from 1997 to 2010. He remains free after posting $700,000 bail.

The preliminary hearing is the first opportunity for prosecutors to present evidence to a judge implicating Bughman. Blumenfield ordered that there was enough evidence for Bughman to stand trial.

He is due back in court for an arraignment on August 17.