A teacher at a Los Angeles school that counts singer Adam Levine among its alumni has been arrested after allegedly engaging in an affair with a 16-year-old student.

Chemistry professor Aimee Palmitessa, 45, was arrested on Friday morning and booked in on felony charges at the city’s Metropolitan Detention Center, DailyMail.com can disclose.

The pretty blonde, who works for the elite Brentwood School, posted bail of $230,000 and was released later the same day.

Chemistry professor Aimee Palmitessa, 45, was arrested on Friday morning and booked in on felony charges at the city’s Metropolitan Detention Center

Palmitessa, seen left in a Facebook photo, works for the elite Brentwood School, posted bail of $230,000 and was released later the same day

Aimee Palmitessa who was arrested for underage sex with a pupil of Brentwood School where she worked

An aerial view of the Brentwood School. Famous alumni include Patrick Schwarzenegger, 23, whose parents are former California governor Arnold, 70, and his ex-wife Maria Shriver, 61, and Maroon 5 frontman Adam Levine, 38

Los Angeles Police Department sources confirmed the 45-year-old’s arrest to DailyMail.com and said she is being investigated over her relationship with the male student, who has not been named.

Details of the arrest and the circumstances that led up to it have not been made public but Palmitessa is now due to appear in court in LA on September 15.

Palmitessa was not available for comment on Saturday but her partner, Vincent Bruzzese, 53, told DailyMail.com: ‘I know nothing about this. I have no comment.’

A statement from Principal Dr. Michael Riera, 61, said: 'On Friday afternoon, the Los Angeles Police Department informed Brentwood School that Upper School teacher, Dr. Aimee Palmitessa, had been arrested on suspicion of inappropriate relations with a student and is expected to face charges. The LAPD did not share additional information with us, such as the nature of the inappropriate relationship or the identity of the minor student. We immediately placed Dr. Palmitessa on administrative leave.

'We were shocked and distressed to receive the news of these allegations. As always, our primary concern is the safety, health, and well-being of our students. To that end, we will do everything we can to cooperate with the official police investigation.

'We appreciate the importance of transparency and will keep our school community informed to the extent we can given our concern for the student, as well as our respect for privacy laws and the integrity of the LAPD’s investigation.'

Palmitessa has been employed at Brentwood School, which charges up to $40,760 a year for tuition, since September 2010.

Vicente Bruzzese leaves his house on Saturday after his partner Aimee Palmitessa was arrested for sex with a minor

Bruzzese, 53, told DailyMail.com: 'I know nothing about this. I have no comment'

Bruzzese was seen leaving his home Saturday. Palmitessa holds a degree in biology from Syracuse University and later studied biochemistry and biophysics at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia

The school sits in one of LA’s ritziest neighborhoods and is famous for attracting celebrity parents, among them Harrison Ford and Calista Flockhart, whose son Liam, 16, is a pupil there. Reese Witherspoon's daughter Ava, 17, whose father is Ryan Phillippe also attends.

Famous alumni include Patrick Schwarzenegger, 23, whose parents are former California governor Arnold, 70, and his ex-wife Maria Shriver, 61, and Maroon 5 frontman Adam Levine, 38.

Comedian Jonah Hill, 33, Boy Meets World actor Ben Savage, 36, and socialite Talita von Fürstenberg, 18, also attended the school.

The educational establishment celebrates its famous former faces on its website, providing links to interviews with Levine and Hill among others, and boasting ‘[Brentwood] alumni go everywhere’.

'It all depends on chemistry': News of Palmitessa's employment was announced in campus publication, Blue Toad in 2010

Principal Riera, who styles himself to students and parents as Dr. Mike, is also no stranger to the small screen and has had his books featured on The Oprah Winfrey Show.

During a break from teaching in the late 90s and early noughties, he worked as parenting correspondent on the CBS Saturday Early Show and hosted a daily Sirius Satellite Radio show called Family Talk with Dr. Mike.

Raised in Jakarta, Indonesia, Palmitessa holds a degree in biology from Syracuse University and later studied biochemistry and biophysics at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia.

She was awarded a PHD in biochemistry and molecular biology by Thomas Jefferson University, also in Philadelphia, and wrote a paper on arresting the ageing process as part of her research work.

Prior to moving to Los Angeles, she held a teaching post at Pennsylvania State Abingdon University before moving west and taking on roles at UCLA and the Academy of Couture Art in West Hollywood.

Famous alumni include Patrick Schwarzenegger, 23, whose parents are former California governor Arnold, 70, and his ex-wife Maria Shriver, 61, and Maroon 5 frontman Adam Levine, 38

Calista Flockhart (L), Harrison Ford and Liam Flockhart (R) attend a basketball game between the Charlotte Hornets and the Los Angeles Lakers at Staples Center on January 31, 2016 in Los Angeles. Liam attends the school

Police Headquarters where Palmitessa was taken and released from after being arrested

STATEMENT FROM BRENTWOOD SCHOOL From Dr. Mike Riera, Head of School 'On Friday afternoon, the Los Angeles Police Department informed Brentwood School that Upper School teacher, Dr. Aimee Palmitessa, had been arrested on suspicion of inappropriate relations with a student and is expected to face charges. The LAPD did not share additional information with us, such as the nature of the inappropriate relationship or the identity of the minor student. We immediately placed Dr. Palmitessa on administrative leave. We were shocked and distressed to receive the news of these allegations. As always, our primary concern is the safety, health, and well-being of our students. To that end, we will do everything we can to cooperate with the official police investigation. We appreciate the importance of transparency and will keep our school community informed to the extent we can given our concern for the student, as well as our respect for privacy laws and the integrity of the LAPD’s investigation.' Advertisement

She joined Brentwood School in 2010 as a chemistry teacher, with news of her employment announced in campus publication, Blue Toad.

In it, she discusses her love of chemistry, telling students: ‘I am just consistently amazed at the intricacies of life as we know it and how it all depends on chemistry.’

Of her decision to move into teaching, she added: ‘I finally decided to try and do something that combined my interests and got me away from staring into a microscope for 10 hours a day, seven days a week.’

Speaking about the school itself, Palmitessa said: ‘The campus is beautiful, the faculty are wonderful and the students are motivated and intelligent.

‘It’s a pleasure to be a part of the Brentwood community.’

Since then, Palmitessa appears to have thrown herself into campus life; regularly taking part in school events and academic competitions.

In 2013, she mentored Brentwood student David Zimmerman to a second place finish in the California State Science Fair senior microbiology contest.

And in June this year, she played the role of advisor to a group of Brentwood pupils taking part in a ‘hackathon’ technology challenge at UCLA.

Outside of school, Palmitessa appears to enjoy an active social life, with friends putting photos of nights out in Venice Beach on their social media profiles.

Her academic biography lists her hobbies as cooking, traveling, bikram yoga, spinning and listening to music.

Records seen by DailyMail.com reveal that Friday’s arrest is not Palmitessa’s only brush with the law.

In April, the 45-year-old was collared for possession of a controlled substance by California police in Indio – close to Palm Springs and approximately 132 miles from LA.

According to the complaint, the science professor was arrested at an address in the city and found to be in possession of MDMA – a party drug known colloquially as ‘molly’.

A copy of the citation, exclusively obtained by DailyMail.com, reveals a court case over the incident is pending, with the glamorous blonde due to appear in front of a judge over the misdemeanor drug charges on August 22.