Former Menifee principal pleads not guilty to sex charges

A Menifee resident and former Christian school principal pleaded not guilty on Wednesday to charges that he attempted to solicit sex from a minor.

Charles Patrick Mayer, 55, entered the plea in Rancho Superior Court in Rancho Cucamonga, according to the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department and court records. He is charged with sending harmful material to seduce a minor and contacting a minor with the intent to have sex.

Mayer served as principal of Good Shepherd Lutheran School in Menifee from 2011-2014 and is currently employed as Dean of Students at Nicolet Middle School in the Banning Unified School District. The district announced that he is on unpaid leave from his job.

Mayer was ordered to be held without bail and is due back in court Aug. 27 for a bail hearing, according to court records.

Mayer was arrested after he responded on a social media account used by Rancho Cucamonga Police detectives as an undercover law enforcement account in various criminal investigations. Mayer began chatting on the site with what he believed to be a 14-year-old boy. Detectives and Mayer corresponded for five days, during which time Mayer sent nude photos of himself to the decoy. He also asked the decoy to come to his Menifee residence for the weekend to engage in sexual acts, according to the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department.

Mayer made arrangements to meet the decoy at a location in Rancho Cucamonga to pick him up and go back to his residence for the night, police said. On Friday about 4:30 p.m., Mayer drove to the location, where detectives were waiting to arrest him.

The Riverside Press-Enterprise, quoting a statement from the Los Angeles Archdiocese, reported Friday that Mayer was ordained as a Roman Catholic priest in 1996 but has been on inactive leave since 2000 "due to a failure to adhere to Archdiocesan policies concerning interaction with youth and young adults. The Archdiocese has no record of allegations of sexual misconduct by Charles Mayer."

The Press-Enterprise also reported that Banning USD Superintendent Robert Guillen said a background check on Mayer did not show any criminal record.