Julie Tichon, the former guidance counselor at YULA Boys High School in West Los Angeles, pleaded no contest on May 7, 2026 to two felony sex crimes involving a 16-year-old male student and was sentenced to two years of probation with no jail time. She must register as a sex offender for at least ten years. A separate civil lawsuit filed against the school by a second former student was ongoing as of May 2026.1Forward. YULA Guidance Counselor Plea Deal Abuse Case
The Plea and Sentence
Tichon, 38, entered a no-contest plea to one count of felony sexual intercourse with a minor and one count of felony oral copulation with a minor. Two additional felony counts of sexual intercourse with a minor were dismissed in exchange.1Forward. YULA Guidance Counselor Plea Deal Abuse Case2LA County. DA Gascón Announces Charges3CBS News Los Angeles. LAPD Seeks Other Possible Victims
The probation terms require her to register as a sex offender for ten years, complete 52 weeks of counseling, remain in therapy, stay at least 100 yards from the victim, and pay restitution in an amount to be set at a later hearing.4New York Post. Former LA High School Counselor Faces Sentence Tichon said she was experiencing “immense personal trauma” and was in a “dark place” at the time of the offenses, declining to elaborate beyond saying it was “not connected to the case.” She described the plea as “a sacrifice I have to make for a better life.”1Forward. YULA Guidance Counselor Plea Deal Abuse Case
Because a no-contest plea is not a guilty plea, it cannot be used as an admission of liability in civil proceedings against her.1Forward. YULA Guidance Counselor Plea Deal Abuse Case
What Prosecutors Said Happened
Tichon served as YULA’s director of academic support and had worked at the modern Orthodox yeshiva since roughly 2020.5ABC7. Guidance Counselor at YULA High School Arrested Prosecutors alleged she engaged in sexual acts with the 16-year-old student multiple times between February and March 2024.2LA County. DA Gascón Announces Charges
The case came to light in May 2024, when the school learned that two students had separately reported sexual relationships with Tichon. The 16-year-old had told his parents about alleged sexual assaults, and the family reported the matter to both the school and law enforcement.1Forward. YULA Guidance Counselor Plea Deal Abuse Case6NBC Los Angeles. Guidance Counselor Sexual Assault Allegations YULA removed Tichon from campus, barred her from contact with the school community, and referred the matter to the LAPD.7Forward. Los Angeles Orthodox High School Staffer Allegations Head of School Rabbi Arye Sufrin wrote to families on May 28, 2024 that the situation was “impossible to comprehend and beyond devastating.”8Jewish Journal. Orthodox High School Acknowledges Inappropriate Relationship
Tichon was arrested on August 29, 2024.3CBS News Los Angeles. LAPD Seeks Other Possible Victims The criminal charges filed the following month involved only the one student.
The Family in Court
At sentencing, the victim’s sister Sara read five letters aloud, four from the victim’s sisters and one of her own. She described the family as “shattered” after their mother’s unexpected death in 2023 and said Tichon “preyed on a vulnerable kid at a fragile time” and “used her time to groom him.” Sara called Tichon “a predator,” “a monster,” and “dangerous,” and said she “had stabbed us and twisted the knife.”4New York Post. Former LA High School Counselor Faces Sentence
Another sister, Phani, described the fallout as rumors spread through the school community: “I was isolated and alone. My brother was the victim but they judged me. I hid in the bathroom at school.”4New York Post. Former LA High School Counselor Faces Sentence
The Civil Lawsuit Against YULA
In September 2025, a second former student, then 20, filed a civil suit against YULA alleging years of sexual abuse by Tichon and claiming the school failed to intervene. Tichon is not named as a defendant in the civil case, and she has publicly denied the allegations by this second student.1Forward. YULA Guidance Counselor Plea Deal Abuse Case
The complaint alleges the school:
- Allowed Tichon to give students rides in her car and spend unsupervised time with them.
- Had no training programs for students or staff and no protocols aimed at preventing child sexual abuse or educator sexual misconduct.
- Ignored warning signs, including rumors circulating as early as the 2021–22 school year and an alleged inappropriate sexual relationship between Tichon and a student’s parent that the school reportedly knew about but did not act on.1Forward. YULA Guidance Counselor Plea Deal Abuse Case
Rabbi Sufrin disputed the claims, saying the suit contained “absolutely unfounded allegations that the school knew or should have known about alleged activity by a former employee” and that “YULA unequivocally denies the allegations against it, and has and will continue to vigorously defend itself in this lawsuit.”1Forward. YULA Guidance Counselor Plea Deal Abuse Case The case remained ongoing as of May 2026.