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D.C. police have arrested a teacher at the Oyster-Adams Bilingual School in Adams Morgan in connection to a case of alleged sexual abuse of a child.

According to the Metropolitan Police Department, 31-year-old Giovanni Pena was arrested on Monday for allegedly sexually abusing a juvenile at the school. He was charged with second degree sexual abuse of a child.

“The safety of our students is a top priority,” the school system said in a statement. “As soon as we became aware of this situation, we acted promptly to remove the teacher from the school and fully cooperate with MPD in this investigation.”

Peña, who has taught the third and fourth grades at the school since 2008, was one of 21 teachers in D.C. to win the prestigious Agnes Meyer Outstanding Teacher Award in 2011.