AUTHORITIES SAY TEACHER FONDLED BOYS; WOMAN WORKED AS SUBSTITUTE AT LOS ANGELES COUNTY SITES.

Byline: Lisa Van Proyen Daily News Staff Writer

A 35-year-old substitute teacher has been arrested on suspicion of inappropriately touching two 17-year-old boys at a drug rehabilitation center, police said Thursday.

Teri Roberts Franck, a female substitute teacher at the Phoenix Academy in Lake View Terrace, was arrested at 10:45 p.m. Wednesday, said Detective Corinne Malinka of the Major Assault Crimes unit at the Los Angeles Police Department's Foothill Division.

Franck was arrested on suspicion of two counts of sexual battery, one count of sexual exploitation of a child and one count of conspiracy, detectives said.

Franck was held at the Van Nuys Jail in lieu of $177,000 bail.

Detectives said the suspect taught at other locations in Los Angeles County, and that they were investigating the possibility of other victims. Investigators ask that anyone with information call [phone] or, after hours, 756-8861.

Franck is accused of inappropriately touching the two students separately in a classroom at the Phoenix Academy during school hours, Malinka said. There were multiple contacts with each of the victims from January through April.

While one of the victim's mothers was visiting the Phoenix Academy on Wednesday, he told her a teacher had fondled him, police said. Detectives said the mother called police.

However, Chris Policano, a Phoenix House spokesman, said a staff member at his facility called police.

Franck was removed from her substitute teaching position Wednesday.

Located in the 11600 block of Eldridge Avenue, the Phoenix House and Academy is a drug- and alcohol-treatment facility that provides housing and schooling for 150 children, Policano said.

The Los Angeles County Office of Education, which oversees the Lake View Terrace facility, takes in students from 81 districts, including the Los Angeles Unified School District, said Margo Minecki, a spokeswoman for the county agency.

Minecki and officials from the Phoenix Academy declined to identify other schools where Franck has taught.

``Providing a safe learning environment for our students is our top priority and we are deeply concerned about this incident that we learned about this morning. We will continue to take all measures necessary to ensure the safety and well-being of our students while the rights of the employee are also considered,'' Minecki said.