A high school teacher in Cloverdale was arrested in connection with accusations that he condoned and played referee at "fight clubs" in which his students participated.

According to CBS SF, 41-year-old Frederico Vargas of Santa Rosa was arrested last week on suspicion of 13 counts of contributing to the delinquency of a minor, and five counts of endangering children. He was released on bail on Sunday.

The Cloverdale Police Department launched its investigation on Thursday, as the Press-Democrat reports, after receiving reports about the "'fight club' style atmosphere" that Vargas had created, allowing his teenage students to duke it out in his classroom — all of which was filmed by one student. There were allegedly multiple fights, and police say at least one of the teens ended up requiring medical treatment.

Jeremy Decker, superintendent of the Cloverdale Unified School District, tells the Press-Democrat that the situation is under investigation, and said, "The safety of our students is of the utmost importance, and we will never ever tolerate violence on campus."

Decker confirmed that Vargas is a faculty member at Cloverdale High, and according to his personal website, he may have been a special education teacher. It remains unconfirmed what type of class Vargas was teaching or overseeing at the time of the alleged fights.

Photo: Cloverdale Chamber