ROBERT SEMPLE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL / MICHAEL CHELTON SEXUAL ABUSE CASES
Matthew Joseph Shelton a former 4th/5th grade teacher employed by Robert Semple Elementary School and the Benicia Unified School District was charged last month with five felony counts of alleged sexual acts with a student was previouslt arrested for similar crimes in Napa more than a decade ago. The Benicia Unified School District's back ground checks and due diligence should have revealed his previous arrests and allegations yet they employed him for 8 years giving him access to hundreds of victims during his tenure.
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He is next scheduled to appear in court on March 11.
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Per the Vallejo Sun Publication and an article written by Gretchen Zimmermann :
"Shelton had previously been employed by the Napa Unified School District, where he was hired in 2006 to teach third grade at Phillips Edison Elementary School. He was arrested the following year for alleged inappropriate touching of two 8-year-old and two 9-year-old female students, according to the Napa Valley Register.
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After a 6-day trial in 2008, a jury acquitted Shelton of six counts of child molestation. The Napa Valley Register reported that three girls testified at the trial and Shelton’s attorney argued that their stories were fabricated and inconsistent with one another. Shelton’s attorney said after the trial that Shelton’s teaching credential had been suspended and he would seek to have it reinstated.
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Benicia Unifed School Districts Superintendent Damon J. Wright downplayed the incident to parents of children who may have come in contact with the predator releasing a sorry attempt to explain the school districts negligence away. See the actual memo downplaying the school districts negligence below:
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Robert Semple Elementary School /Matthew Shelton Sexual Abuse
As a child victim growing up with memories of abuse such as the abuse that likely occurred at Robert Semple Elementary School, you develop problems with authority, trust issues, anger issues, depression, anxiety, sexual issues, night terrors, nightmares and post-traumatic stress...this affects your children in so many areas of their life! Many resort to self medication as teens, have increased amounts or decreased amounts of sex, lash out against their peers and other authority figures, lose interest in the things they love and never fully recover. Many harbor their secret and keep their experiences bottled away for decades not even sharing the information with their spouses and those closest to them. You deserve justice and to get your child the help they need!
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If yor are the parent of a child that was sexually assaulted by ex teacher Matthew Jospeh Shelton or anyone else at Robert Semple Elementary School or you believe your child may have been sexually assaulted and may be showing signs of abuse you may be entitled to significant compentation and Justice for your abuse.
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