Teacher at Leigh High School in San Jose accused of raping student more than 2 decades ago

By Carlos Castaneda

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    SAN JOSE, California (KOVR) — A teacher at Leigh High School in San Jose has been arrested for the alleged sexual assault of a student more than 20 years ago, one of two teachers recently arrested for allegedly preying on students, police said Monday.

San Jose police said the officers responded on March 8 to a report of sexual assault of a minor that happened sometime between 2002 and 2003. Investigators with the department’s Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force determined the suspect was a teacher at Leigh High School and the victim was a girl who was a student at the school.

Police identified the suspect as 56-year-old Shawn Thomas of Los Gatos, who currently teaches at Leigh HS and is also a football and track and field coach at Los Gatos High School.

On Friday, ICAC detectives located and arrested Thomas in San Jose and booked him into the Santa Clara County Main Jail on charges of rape and sexual assault of a minor.

Separately, police said Monday that a second San Jose teacher was arrested on March 20 for allegedly annoying or molesting a minor. Giovanny LaTorre, a teacher at ACE Empower Academy, is accused of exchanging inappropriate electronic and handwritten messages with a juvenile female student in December.

Police asked anyone with information about the cases or similar cases to contact Detective Camarillo #4576 at 4576@sanjoseca.gov or 408-273-2959.

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