Former Napa teacher accused of sexual assault tries to seal documents; reporter requests to intervene

The First Amendment Coalition, which protects and promotes a free press, has sought to legally intervene on behalf of Sun freelance reporter Holly McDede. In a news release Wednesday, the coalition said McDede requested information regarding alleged sexual abuse claims against Matthew Shelton from both the Napa Valley Unified and and Benicia Unified school districts. 

Solano County prosecutors charged Shelton, who formerly taught the fifth grade at Robert Semple Elementary School in Benicia, in February on felony allegations of sexually abusing a minor, then filed similar allegations involving another accuser.

Shelton is attempting to stop the release of information either district has on the allegations to the public by responding to McDede's request with what is known as a reverse California Public Records Act lawsuit. The First Amendment Coalition said this is a common practice by subjects of public records requests like this one in their press release.

In the motion to intervene, David Loy of the coalition said that both the Napa and Benicia public school systems do not oppose the request and take no position on the merit of Shelton’s claims. 

McDede has been following sexual abuse allegations against Shelton at Semple Elementary in the Vallejo Sun. Last month McDede reported on the Benicia family’s lawsuit against the teacher and the Benicia school district, alleging that the district was negligent in hiring Shelton after his previous experiences in the Napa school system.

Since then, four more accusers have come forward and alleged sexual misconduct by Shelton during his time in the Benicia district. That has manifested in a second lawsuit alleging the Benicia district did not take proper steps to prevent abuse by Shelton. Semple Elementary principal Christina Moore was placed on administrative leave May 3.

Past Register reporting indicates that when Shelton worked within NVUSD, he was arrested in September 2007 charged on four misdemeanor counts of annoying or molesting a child and two counts of misdemeanor sexual battery after incidents involving three female students at Phillips Edison Elementary in Napa.

At the time, Shelton’s attorney argued that the victims’ stories were “fabricated and inconsistent with one another.” A jury in Napa County Superior Court acquitted Shelton in February 2008 after only 20 minutes of deliberation. 

The request to intervene was scheduled for a hearing Thursday morning in Solano County Superior Court. If McDede is allowed to intervene, her lawyer Loy said they are prepared to file a brief by May 31 explaining why they believe the documents should be made public. 

McDede declined to comment on the legal matter.

Loy expressed confidence that their request will be approved, although the final say is up to the judge.

“I do think we should prevail because the public has the right to disclosure of any records of substantial misconduct,” he said Wednesday.