" Two or Three years for this...coravibbias or the foster father...185 years. Which of the spectrum will a conviction in this case bring. If proven guilty?, I hope that this individual meets the foster father's judge, not the retired cop's wife's judge, not Wenneker's judge or the former napa high instructor who was convicted of nine counts and received less than THREE YEARS.MAKE SURE THIS INDIVIDUAL IF CONVICTED< NEVER REACHES SOCIETY AGAIN TO P{REY ON CHILDREN "

" I cant believe it took 6 months to "wrap up" this investigation. Those poor kids and their parents waiting that long for justice. Makes me sick to think this could happen nowadays... we screen teachers so heavily. I hope the girls are doing ok. "

" Well apparantly they did have problems with Mr. Shelton while he was a teacher at Philips. I am very sorry for the children and their families. It is a catastrophe in my book when you have your child at school and they are being targeted by a teacher. If he is convicted I think he should pay back the "adminstrative leave payment" that he recieved. This is shameful "

" The sad fact is that (if the allegations are true) these girls will carry this weight in one way or another for the rest of their lives. Any man who tries to show them kindness will likely be perceived with deep suspicion. However, should the allegations prove false, Mr. Shelton will be the one who’s life and career will have been dealt an irrecoverable blow. Either way you look at it, sex abuse allegations never end well for anyone. "

" We get the opportunity to take a whole new look at teachers in Napa. In one week, one is arrested and charged with attempted murder with a gun and one is arrested for sexual abuse. Just like we asked when bill clinton was president, "What message is this sending to our children?" "

" Just to repeat what the paper reported, “We never had any problems with Mr. Shelton while he was a teacher at Phillips Edison. This comes as a real blow to us", I have to say that apparantly their were potentially extremely serious problems. It just goes to show that if this situation ends with a conviction, it shows how easily fooled adults and children are by a pedophile. We really need to keep communication wide open with our children on a daily basis. Ultimately, after reading the newspaper the last few days, we are entrusting our children to teachers who have serious problems. As a parent to children who attend our schools here, I am deeply concerned. "

" Please don't convict until the courts do. This teacher is truley innocent until proven guilty, which is why the D.A has taken 6 months to file charges. Not all of the information is accurate in the article. This person is not a bad person in any way, and I feel has been wrongfully accused. These accusations will be with him and his family forever. I am hoping the courts will find the truth and allow this man to try to rebuild his life. Our thoughts are with you. "

" Taxpayer, step back a bit. Teachers are just people, like everyone else. At least they get fingerprinted and have background checks before they get to work with kids, but obviously, people are unpredictable. The actions of two teachers in one week shouldn't reflect badly upon teachers as a whole, just the same as the actions of 200 men against women shouldn't make all men criminals. That's what they called in philosophy "a slippery slope" (and flawed) argument. "

" Thank you Matt, how refreshing to read an educated and reasonable post. I am a parent like many others here yet it's too soon to cast stones and be come hysterical. Not all teachers are flawed, some of the best and brightest are right here in Napa and Solano counties. "

" IF these allegations are true, it just proves that any person in any walk of life can be other than perfect. Pedophilia should never be tolerated because it is an illness that cannot be cured. But, on the other hand, not all teachers are pedophiles, just as all Catholic priests are not pedophiles. Remember not to bad rap a whole profession just because of one bad apple. "

" Is there any wonder why our kids are not getting educated. We taxpayers pay through the nose to provide facilities, staff, administration, huge salaries and benefits to teachers and look at who is teaching our children! We now have 4 school bonds on our housess which we have willingly agreed to pay. But now, A woman charged with attempted murder with a gun and a man charged with sexual misconduct. No it ain't NCLB that is the problem with our schools, this proves it. So teachers, you got a lot of backing off to do till you start proving that you can earn the support and respect of this community. Tell your union to butt out and take personal responsibility for the terrible situation with teachers. This community will not stand for this any longer "

" Well Matt maybe you're right. Having two NVUSD teachers hauled off to jail shouldn't reflect badly on the teachers group as a whole. To follow your reasoning then, It is apparently a credit to the teaching profession. And, if it is a credit, there is always a debit. So I guess we can look forward to much more bad news from teachers soon, but we won't think badly of them. "

" Not for a moment do I think all teachers are shooters, or pedophiles, nor do I think all white people are better than black people,..., nor do I view success as one who makes the most money. A person working at a waste management company is as worthy as a CEO...or our moderator here on these boards is less successful than say the Editor or owner of this paper. However, with that being said,...my message is to keep an open dialogue with your children. Obviously these 4 children had that open dialogue with their parents, so kudo's to them. "

" i think this just gose to show that, there are "dangerous" people everywhere. i grew up in a very small town and it was the "perfect" place but there where problems in the town and the school, just a couple of years ago a previous teacher of mine from a very important family in the area was found in a class room having more than just a discution with a 15 year old student. Butt not all teachers are bad, the only reason i made it threw grammer school was because of one of my teachers. there is good and bad in everyone, no matter what your job is, we just need to teach our kids what to do in a situation like this one and hope to god that they never have to go threw it, and also maybe do more than finger printing, make them go threw Physiological exam. god bless "

" I find it amazing that people are immediately jumping to the conclusion that this guy is guilty. As a male teacher in this “glorious” profession, I find it very insulting that a community will attack a person before knowing the facts. The little information given in this article is not enough to place blame on anyone. If these allegations are false, justice has been served in the wrong manner. Placing blame before evidence is asinine. If these allegations are true, then he deserves every single one of these horrific comments. "

" I have been reading everyone's comments for 2 weeks now and it frustrates me that people forget the words innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Neither of these teachers have gone through the court process yet, so as a community we need to back off! How can you justify your comments about them before the facts have been stated and the jury has decided? A bunch of newspaper articles that do not state all the facts should not be the deciding factor. "

" Thank you codsmom. You are 100% right. It is sad that any innocent person be condemned only knowing a portion of the facts. The reporter should also be held somewhat accountable for making sure she is reporting the correct facts. All to often the reporter is first concerned with getting the story out and then later having to recant incorrect information. At that point the damage has been done. The public needs to wait until the courts hear all the evidence before attacking an individual. "

" I too agree one is innocent until proven guilty; however, this is not one child making this claim, but FOUR. 'Inappropriate touching' could mean a variety of things, but I would think that in this day and age, most teachers would have enough common sense to limit their 'contact' to words only, nothing physical. I also believe the people posting here begging for bias now might feel much differently if one of their daughters was part of the 4 children involved. "

" And a comment to codsmom on the teacher who shot her boyfriend. She has admitted shooting him, what more is there to prove.? Regardless of the why involved, she still did it, so I don't understand how there can be any confusion concerning her involvement when she already stated she was the one who shot him. "

" Sorry...typo in last post...UNBIASED is what I intended... "

" Does anyone remember their American history? I am specifically referring to the Salem witch trials? Back then, two young girls (ages 9 and 11) started accusing certain people of being witches. By the time all was said and done, over 150 men and women were put to death by various means simply for being accused of something that could neither be proven nor disproven. The only real difference here and now is that, if the allegations are found to be true, there will be physical and scientifically validated evidence to that affect. It is not unheard of for a group of children to fabricate a story to the detriment of an innocent person. Let due process take it’s course. As I wrote before, these types of issues never end well for anyone, no matter which way the scales tip. "

" This makes me sick to my stomache. Our precious children are not even safe in their own schools. "

" Why is it that there is such a rush to judgement here? Being charged is not being convicted. Mr. Shelton was removed from the classroom as soon as the complaints were filed. The District Attorney took five months to conclude there was a basis for charging him. During that time he was terminated from his position. Now that charges have been filed (all misdemeanors, by the way), he will stand trial and the DA will notify the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing and Mr. Shelton will also be required to defend his credential--even if he is acquitted at trial. I know that a parent who feels that their child has been mistreated or abused by any adult can only feel angered and desire immediate justice. That's not the way our system works. Everyone has due process rights--parents, teachers, even the Attorney General of the United States. In my experience, the vast majority of complaints of this type are shown to have little or no merit. I can only hope that is the case here--for the students and families involved as well as for Mr. Shelton. In the meantime, let the justice system work and let's refrain from prejudging Mr. Shelton or the girls who filed the complaint. "