A second lawsuit has been filed against the Benicia Unified School District and a former Robert Semple Elementary School teacher accused of sexual misconduct, representing three additional youth plaintiffs alleging they were abused by their teacher during the 2022-23 school year.
According to Brendan Gilbert, the lead attorney from the Los Angeles-based law firm Taylor & Ring who filed the suit April 24, the lawsuit alleges that Matthew Joseph Shelton, who formerly taught fifth grade at Robert Semple Elementary School in Benicia, sexually assaulted four students – who have been identified in the lawsuit as Jane Does 2-5 – during the first semester of the 2022-23 school year and that the district was negligent in hiring and supervising the teacher.
“These cases are appalling and have raised serious questions about how well teachers are vetted given that Shelton had a history of sexual abuse allegations at another school district,” said Gilbert. “If that had been disclosed, as it should have been, then Shelton should not have been hired which would have prevented any future abuse. Shockingly, Benicia Unified didn’t even fire Shelton when these allegations came to light, he was allowed to quietly resign, and was able to find employment at another school in mid-2023.”
Taylor & Ring also represents Jane Doe 1 in a separate lawsuit, filed on April 9 and involving similar misconduct allegations against Shelton.
Shelton, 42, was arrested on Feb. 23 after allegations arose that he had engaged in inappropriate interactions with a student at the school. According to court documents, Shelton has been charged with seven felony counts of lewd acts on a child under the age of 14 “with the intent of arousing, appealing to, and gratifying the lust, passions, and sexual desires of the said defendant and the said child.”
According to court documents, Jane Doe 1 was attending fifth grade at Robert Semple during the fall 2022 semester when she reported the abuse. That December, a fellow student also reported inappropriate conduct occurring by Shelton to administrators, but no action was taken to see if there were other victims, said Gilbert. Shelton was placed on leave after the second allegations were made but he did not resign from Benicia Unified until June 2, 2022. By July 2, 2022, Gilbert said he was employed at the West Contra Costa Unified School District as an assistant principal at Helms Middle School.
This is not the first time that Shelton has faced these types of allegations. Shelton previously faced misdemeanor sexual abuse allegations involving four students while teaching at Phillips Edison Elementary School in Napa back in April 2007. Following a 6-day jury trial in 2008, he was acquitted of six counts of child molestation. Reports from the Napa Valley Register during the trial highlighted that three girls testified, but Shelton’s attorney argued their accounts were inconsistent and fabricated and the charges were overturned.
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Benicia Unified School District Superintendent Damon Wright said on Wednesday that the District is not able to comment on pending litigation cases. But following Shelton’s arrest, Wright had said in March that the district has created a multi-step action plan to review the district’s systems and processes to ensure student safety and wellbeing that outlines three key areas of importance, which include conducting an independent review of the district’s hiring, supervision, and evaluation practices of all employees during all school hours and across all school activities, including extracurricular activities and field trips.
“We believe having an independent review of our systems will reinforce the comprehensiveness of our practices and it may offer additional recommendations for consideration,” said Wright in March. “We will not shy away from embracing actions that will strengthen our commitment to excellence across our operations in service to students.”
Shelton is scheduled to appear in a Vallejo courtroom for a preliminary hearing setting on May 6. The civil litigation, however, does not have a scheduled court date until Sept. 10.
