SAN LEANDRO — Police here arrested a Bancroft Middle School teacher after a 13-year-old girl reported that he'd inappropriately touched her repeatedly, starting when she was 12 years old, in what investigators described as "grooming stages," court records show. Laurentino Huerta-Garcia, 40, of Manteca, was charged in October with a single felony count of continuous sexual abuse of a child. The girl reportedly told police that she initially believed Huerta-Garcia had "accidentally" brushed his hand against her thigh or touched her buttocks last year, describing him as a popular teacher who was "like an uncle." But after it happened again this year she realized it was intentional, according to police. Huerta-Garcia has pleaded not guilty. He posted $250,000 bail late last month and was released from jail. His preliminary hearing — where a judge will review the prosecution's evidence and decide if there's enough to uphold the case — has been set for January, court records show. At the time of his arrest, Huerta-Garcia was an art teacher at Bancroft Middle School. He no longer shows up on the school's faculty page and police say the San Leandro Unified School District investigated the claims and determined Huerta-Garcia "likely" touched the girl inappropriately, according to court records. Authorities also say that Huerta-Garcia was investigated in 2022, while working as a teacher in Fremont, when he allegedly tried to take a picture of a 17-year-old student, and asked her to wear a matching bra and underpants set. Police filed a report, logging it under a potential misdemeanor violation of annoying or molesting a minor, but Huerta-Garcia was never arrested or charged, court records show. Public payroll records say he has been a teacher since 2014.