Vintage High teacher arrested for sex crime

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Tuesday, November 18, 2008

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By MARSHA DORGAN
Register Staff Writer

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See updated article aboveA Vintage High School math teacher has been arrested and charged with child molestation.

Josefat (Joe) Estrada, 35, who lives in Sonoma County, was arrested this weekend in Napa on 18 separate counts involving lewd acts with a child under 18.

He is being held in the Sonoma County jail on $250,000 bail. Estrada and the boy believed to be his victim know one another, police said. The boy is not a Vintage student, according to police.

Estrada has been a teacher at Vintage since 2005, according to Vintage High School Principal Eric Schneider.

“I received a phone call on Sunday about Joe’s arrest. This is a very sad and devastating day for Vintage,” Schneider said Monday morning.

“I am sure the first concern parents who are hearing about this is, ‘does it involve any of our students?’” Schneider said. “I want to make it very clear that this tragic incident does not involve anyone (attending) our high school.”

Estrada is originally from Tempe, Ariz., Schneider said.

“He taught in Tempe, and then in New York City, where he was before he came to Napa,” Schneider said. “This is just devastating for us. He had a huge impact on the school. In addition to his math teaching assignment, he was also involved in the freshman transition program. This is a significant loss for the school.”

Police say the sexual encounters began when the boy, who is now 18, was 14. They continued for about two years, according to Sonoma County Sheriff’s Sgt. Glenn Lawrence. “A family member came forward and reported the alleged crimes,” Lawrence said.

Estrada was a trusted friend to the family of the teen, according to press release from the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Department.

Estrada is scheduled to be arraigned in Sonoma County Superior Court today at 8:30 a.m.

Correction: An earlier version of this article misspelled Mr. Estrada's first name

29 comment(s)

Byoung wrote on Nov 18, 2008 2:11 AM:

" It seems like these sick predators are everywhere these days. Napa seems to have a big problem with them especially, ive seen more articles like this in the register this year than any other news i look at... This is also the seconed teacher this year being arested this time its much much worse though. wow the school district sure does a great job pickin these teachers! "

noblindershere wrote on Nov 18, 2008 7:56 AM:

" byoung- if the person doesn't have a prior record then why would the school district not hire the person?

According to everything I know about the person being named, the kids loved him and he was respected by his peers for the hard work he did. Several people have dark secrets...we know more about these type of incidents in Napa because we are a small town, it happens all over. America in general has a serious problem with sexual predators. "

hellokitty wrote on Nov 18, 2008 8:13 AM:

" well... let's wait and see what happens....yet does the boy live in napa, or in tempe, or in NY? because it said "continued for two years" and so why come forward until today?hhuuummm weird. "

NapaConservative wrote on Nov 18, 2008 8:32 AM:

" wow... if you can't trust your kids teachers... who can you trust these days?? "

MP wrote on Nov 18, 2008 8:54 AM:

" These secrets do find deep dark corners to hide...no one believed for a long time that priests would behave inappropriately with their young parishioners, either. "

UncleStuy wrote on Nov 18, 2008 9:02 AM:

" hellokitty-
A peodophile's best weapon is secretcy. The peodophile uses this to his advantage by telling his victim to be quite and not tell anyone. He/she might tell the victim, he/she might hurt him or their family. In turn, the victim does not tell anyone for fear they maybe labeled a homosexual or a lesbian. Confusion, guilt and fear takes over the victim's mind, it could be instanteous or displayed at a latter time. Some victims display usual behavior, criminal, or suffer severe depression over the incident that does not manifest for years to come. The pivotal moment when the victim comes forward to report the crime. It could be in counseling, therapy, with a minister or a police officer. These people are required, by law, to report this to the authorities and to the District Attorney's office for prosectution. "

noseyrosie wrote on Nov 18, 2008 9:04 AM:

" This is NAUSEATING!!! "

yvonne wrote on Nov 18, 2008 9:33 AM:

" This is a tragic situation; tragic for the young man involved and for the Vintage faculty and students. For the first time my son has an A grade in his math class, thanks to this teacher. He came home one day and said "I'm finally learning it, I finally get it", and thats thanks to Mr. Estrada.

I obviously don't condone the acts that he has been charged with, and it upset my son and I to hear about this yesterday. But so far he has been charged, not convicted, and as far as we know, not confessed. I guess we will have to wait and see how this comes out in court.

I sincerely hope the young man involved is getting the help he needs to overcome this tragic situation, and as for Mr. Estrada, I also hope he gets what he deserves. I believe in the legal system, and hope this matter is resolved one way or the other very soon. "

Reality Check wrote on Nov 18, 2008 9:45 AM:

" NAUSEATING??? Naw, you're all being so judgemental. This is just a civil rights problem. There's nothing wrong going on here. It's all an issue of "age of consent." Let's march this Saturday to get the age down to maybe 10 and then everything becomes OK. See how progressive we can be? "

rene123 wrote on Nov 18, 2008 10:48 AM:

" Yvonne, I had Mr. Estrada too and he was the only math teacher I had that actually tought me with patience and understanding. Theres no doubt about it that he is a great teacher, its too bad he turned out to be a peodophile. "

glenroy wrote on Nov 18, 2008 11:02 AM:

" reality check….indeed….man boy relationships is the next item on the agenda… "

Capain America wrote on Nov 18, 2008 11:18 AM:

" I would like to remind all readers and bloggers that the American Justice System - the greatest system in the world - remains based upon the presumption of innocence. A person accuse of a crime is INNOCENT UNTIL PROVEN GUILTY. Please do not allow yourself to jump to any conclusions based solely upon accusations. Considering the seriousness of such charges, every reader, and the media itself, must take care to act responsibly. "

napanana wrote on Nov 18, 2008 11:26 AM:

" Got ya Capain America......you can have this man babysit for YOU....or tutor YOUR child. He doesn't need supervision.....he is a TEACHER for goodness sakes! Shame on us! "

reason-ator wrote on Nov 18, 2008 11:59 AM:

" Captain America, it's not a 'Justice' system. It's a 'Legal' system.

But your point should be understood by everyone. It's quite possible this case is built upon the accusations of a teenage boy. One person's word against another. And, to use a play on words, it's possible that the victim is suspect. "

manxkat wrote on Nov 18, 2008 12:03 PM:

" This is lovely serene Napa Valley. Earlier this year we had a St. Helena teacher arrested and charged with sexual abuse. Earlier this year we had a Napa teacher arrested and charged with vandalism. 2 months ago a Napa teacher was sentenced to prison for shooting her live-in lover with a hand gun. Now we have another teacher charged with sexual abuse. 4 teachers in one year in the same small county - what is going on?

I simply cannot understand the violence and abuse in our schools perpetrated by the people who are supposed be role models to our children, the people whom our children look up to.

There is no wonder why our children are failing to learn. The front page disasters in the schools are so common it has become a comedic tragedy. Our kids are traumatized by the incompetence of our schools, by the fear of what the next teacher disaster will be.

this cannot be swept under the run any longer. There has to be a complete change in administration, teachers and attitude in our schools. "

M.G. wrote on Nov 18, 2008 2:10 PM:

" manxkat,

The St. Helena incident involved a coach/pastor. He was not a teacher.

And we have a complete change in administration and teachers by doing what, exactly? It's not like there's a long line of people (with 5+ years of college) lined up outside of the NVUSD district office looking to take a pay cut. "

funnyme wrote on Nov 18, 2008 2:16 PM:

" R Ch...you are right!...lol...OK, this is not a funny matter by any means, but when you put in context, all other issues should become clear.

I'd like to see the "Teacher's Unions" put on the stand the same way the Catholic Church has been held responsible for a bunch of rotten apples within the establishment...it's only fair! "

bornin74 wrote on Nov 18, 2008 2:25 PM:

" Reality and Glenroy - Maybe we can fly the NAMBLA flag above our own flag at our rally Saturday!
I cannot believe the Register would publish this..... this is a violation of this teachers civil "liberties"............. :) "

NVR-Dan Ross wrote on Nov 18, 2008 2:29 PM:

" bornin74:
Can you please explain how publishing an article that an individual has been arrested and charged with various crimes is a violation of their civil liberties? This individual has been arrested, has been booked and was in court today in Sonoma County. "

bornin74 wrote on Nov 18, 2008 2:46 PM:

" Dan----

See the smiley face............
Reference your articles and front page pic. from last week of our flag......
and the blog comments from that article...and reality and glenroys comments above........... trying to add a little humor with twisting plotlines here.

jeez-- "

JimClark wrote on Nov 18, 2008 3:19 PM:

" Mr. Ross: you are within your rights to report the news.
A simple accusation can also become a serious and damaging issue to the individual charged. He or she also legally hold rights under the same Constitution. Our current culture is not adequately educated to comprehend this concept (Jay walking?).
Point being, everyone must have the freedom to express their consideration on any issue.
Politics is a part of Philosophy as a whole. It has become the unwanted child of the philosophical and rhetorical process. The history of politics has become an over-ridding element in American history. Politics over weighs Philosophy as a whole these days. Imbalance has been applied to many individual anomalies yet, it now seems to extend itself to our current culture.
Your entry is an indication of ethical responsibility. You actually read the “blogs” offered here. "

NVR-Dan Ross wrote on Nov 18, 2008 3:51 PM:

" See our homepage for an updated article on today's court hearing. "

xgrapecrusher wrote on Nov 18, 2008 4:21 PM:

" A significant loss for the school.It does not Involve anyone attending our high school. how do you know? I say good riddance "

coigue wrote on Nov 18, 2008 5:02 PM:

" The best way to combat this in your own family, is to teach sex education to your children often. Including the scary parts of pedophilia. They need to feel comfortable talking to you about anything.

This means as adults we have to grow up and stop being embarassed ourselves. "

manxkat wrote on Nov 18, 2008 7:58 PM:

" To MG: I would rather have my kids walking the streets than confined to a school system that permits women who shoot their lovers with guns and men who abuse children to be teachers. "

M.G. wrote on Nov 18, 2008 9:52 PM:

" manxkat, your premise that the school system "permits women who shoot their lovers with guns and men who abuse children to be teachers" is preposterous. No one who has done such things would ever be allowed to teach. Background checks are extensive. But how is an employer supposed to know who will commit crimes in the future? How would YOU feel if you applied for a job and were turned down because, even though you had a spotless past, someone THOUGHT you SEEMED like the type who someday MIGHT commit a crime? As for your children walking the streets... what a horrible thing for a parent to even think up. "

amazed wrote on Nov 19, 2008 4:25 PM:

" Based on the two articles so far, I haven't seen anything indicating Estrada was fired from previous teaching jobs for misconduct, or that he was shuffled around to avoid prosecution. After all, THAT'S reserved for the Catholic church. "

rogers wrote on Nov 21, 2008 8:02 AM:

" manxkat do not condemn an entire system based on the actions of a desperate few. When anyone holds another to a level of perfection, you are bound to be disappointed. The majority of teachers are good hardworking folk.

Also many innocent teachers have had their careers ruined by false accusations from parents and students. Most do not return to education after going through such a terrible experience. This man may very well be guilty, but that's up to the courts to decide, not you.

Best to wait until all the evidence is provided before casting stones. "

Jane Eyrehead wrote on Nov 22, 2008 7:16 AM:

" to rogers--

Thank you for your comment. "

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