By Courier staff

The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office has filed charges against Former Claremont Unified School District Board of Education President Steven Llanusa and two other people in connection with a December 3 holiday party at Llanusa’s Claraboya home.

“The allegations involved inappropriate behavior and furnishing alcoholic beverages to members of the Claremont High School Choir program,” read a news release from Claremont Police Department Lt. Karlan Bennett.

The most serious accusation is against 34-year-old Blake White, aka “Buddy the Elf,” of Temecula, who is charged with two counts of lewd or lascivious acts with a minor 14/15 years of age and four counts of annoying or molesting a child. He was arrested on December 28 in Temecula and transported to Claremont, where he was booked and later released on a $25,000 bond.

Llanusa, 62, is charged with two counts of contributing to the delinquency of a minor and a single count of providing alcohol to a minor under 21.

Claremont resident Tandy Robinson, 61, is charged with a single count of providing alcohol to a minor under 21.

The case was presented to the L.A. County District Attorney on February 9 and the next court date for all three defendants is March 30.

Llanusa resigned his 17-year seat on the board of education on December 10 after parents and other community members complained the party was inappropriate for the underage members of the Claremont High School choir, who had been hired to sing at the event, and his board colleagues issued a de facto vote of no confidence on December 9.

On January 18 the CUSD Board of Education appointed former board member Hilary LaConte to fill the vacancy through December 2024, but a recent petition drive to hold a special election to fill the seat appears to be on its way to approval.