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Estey Bomberger reviews and monitors news stories and reports of crime and lawsuits involving public and private schools nationwide. The following reports are for schools located in Santa Clara County, CA. If your child has been sexually abused or negligently supervised and you would like more information about your options or rights in a civil suit, contact us for a free consultation.
- JORDAN MIDDLE SCHOOL (PALO ALTO)
750 N California Ave, Palo Alto, CA 94303
Bill Giordano, a middle school and gym teacher at Jordan Middle School, was arrested on August 18, 2005 on charges of having a three year sexual relationship with an underage student, beginning in 1991 when she was 14 years old. Giordano entered a no contest plea to 10 counts of child molestation in June 2006. In November 2006, Giordano was sentenced to four years in prison. News Sources: Palo Alto Online
THE KING’S ACADEMY (SUNNYVALE)
562 North Britton Avenue, Sunnyvale, CA 94085
Abigail Holloway, 33, a former teacher and softball coach at the King’s Academy in Sunnyvale, CA, was arrested in Colorado in March 2009, and accused of having a three-year-long sexual relationship with a female student beginning in 2002. Holloway was charged with 15 counts of child molestation and sex perversion. A police report detailed at least 100 sexual encounters between the student and her teacher, beginning when she was 13 and her teacher was 25. In December 2009, Holloway accepted a court offer and pleaded no contest to two counts of lewd or lascivious acts on a child 14 or 15, one count of oral copulation with a minor and one count of sexual penetration of a person under the age of 18. News Source: Inside Bay Area
O.B. WHALEY ELEMENTARY SCHOOL (SAN JOSE)
2655 Alvin Ave, San Jose, CA 95121
Craig Chandler, 36, an elementary teacher at O.B. Whaley Elementary School, was arrested in January 2012 on suspicion of molesting and sexually abusing five of his former students while playing a “Helen Keller game”. At trial, prosecutors painted a picture of the victims, all second grade girls, being taken one at a time into Chandler’s Room 18, and being blindfolded, and something inserted into their mouths and ordered to “move your tongue around”. Chandler had claimed he was playing a game to teach children what it felt like to be blind. Chandler’s semen was found in the classroom. The principal of the school, Lyn Vijayendran, was found guilty of failing to report suspected sexual abuse to authorities, despite being told by an 8-year-old girl about a possible sexual act performed on her by Chandler. A few months later, another parent complained to an acting principal while Vijayendran was on maternity leave. Chandler was arrested within a day. In November 2013, Chandler was convicted to 75 years to live in prison. News Sources: Mercury News, ABC 7 News
PARADISE VALLEY ELEMENTARY SCHOOL (MORGAN HILL)
1400 La Crosse Dr, Morgan Hill, CA 95037
John Loyd, 52, of Hollister, a fifth-grade teacher at Paradise Valley Elementary school, was arrested on October 2, 2014 and accused of sexually assaulting a female student in his classroom. Following his arrest, three more victims were identified. In October 2015, Loyd was sentenced to 40 years in prison after pleading guilty and admitting to his criminal acts. Loyd must serve 85 percent of his sentence, or 34 years, and will not be eligible for parole until he is in his late 80s. News Source: San Jose Mercury News
- SANTA CLARA HIGH SCHOOL (SANTA CLARA)
3250 Monroe St, Santa Clara, CA 95051
Hugo Cortes Guzman, 32, a statistics and algebra teacher at Santa Clara High School, was arrested in September 2013 on suspicion of having a sexual relationship with a 17-year-old female student. A janitor contacted authorities after seeing lights on inside classroom P8 and that a male and female were inside. Guzman and his student were watching the movie “This is the End.” The janitor reported the scene to the head janitor who said he had seen that before. Later that night, when the janitor returned to clean the room, he found a green foam mattress, blankets and pillows under the teacher’s desk, and hair straighteners and girls panties and bras in a cabinet. He reported the incident to a secretary at another school, who suggested he report it to his union representative, who contacted the human resources director of the district, who contacted Santa Clara Police. Police visited the teacher’s room after he had left, and found found the mattress under the desk and inside a wall locker found clothes, personal accessories, girl’s panties and bras, two condoms, sexual lubricant, a condom blown up like a balloon and a copy of the book “50 Shades of Grey.” He was charged with four felony counts of unlawfui sex with a minor. News Sources: CBS Local News San Francisco
WILCOX HIGH SCHOOL (SANTA CLARA)
3250 Monroe St, Santa Clara, CA 95051
Edward Slate, 43, of Hollister, a special-education teacher at Wilcox High School, was arrested in August 2009 on suspicion of having a sexual relationship with a student. He was charged with seven counts of improper relations with a minor, including two counts of oral copulation with a minor, two counts of sexual penetration with a person under 18, two counts of sodomy with a person younger than 18, and a misdemeanor count of annoying or molesting a child. He pleaded guilty in February of 2010 to six felony counts as part of a negotiated settlement agreed upon by prosecutors. He was sentenced to two years and eight months in prison, and required to register as a sex offender for life. News Source: Mercury News
- WILL ROGERS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL (SAN JOSE)
San Jose, CA 95127
Johnny Urias, 51, an elementary school teacher, was arrested May 30, 2012 in San Jose, and charged with possession of child pornography, following an investigation that began in August 2011 after his wife found images on his computer and turned him in. In December 2012, Urias was sentenced to one year in county jail, four years probation, and required to register as a sex offender. News Source: NBC Bay Area