Upland teacher accused of abuse due in court Tuesday

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Children detail Upland teacher's alleged sexual abuse

Will Bigham, Staff Writer

Created: 04/06/2009 06:34:36 PM PDT

RANCHO CUCAMONGA - Four Upland schoolchildren and a police detective took the witness stand Monday and detailed sexual abuse allegations against former schoolteacher James Andrew Megaw.

Following a full day of testimony in West Valley Superior Court, a judge ruled that Megaw, the former head of Upland's teachers union, must stand trial on four of the six felony counts filed by prosecutors.

Megaw, 42, is accused of inappropriately touching second- and third-grade students in his class at Valencia Elementary School.

The six alleged victims include three boys and three girls. Five of the students are were allegedly molested in Megaw's class during the current school year.

The sixth student was in enrolled in Megaw's class two years ago, from August 2006 to June 2007. Megaw touched her inappropriately nearly every school day, the girl testified Monday.

The first child to testify Monday was an 8-year-old boy who was the first to publicly accuse Megaw of abusing him.

The boy, a third-grader, testified that when he went to Megaw's desk seeking assistance with schoolwork, Megaw would often rub the boy's genitals through his pants.

The abuse started about two weeks after the school year began in August 2008, and occurred nearly every day until Megaw was placed on leave in late October, the boy testified.

The other five alleged victims, three of whom testified Monday, accuse Megaw of either rubbing their genitals during class, or grabbing their hands and pressing them to Megaw's crotch area, according to testimony Monday from the children and a police detective who interviewed the alleged victims.

Some of the students accuse Megaw of doing both acts, and some said he did it on a regular basis, according to testimony Monday.

Most of the students said Megaw abused them when they walked to his desk. Others said he would touch them when he walked over their desks, according to testimony Monday.

"You're not supposed to do that to kids," testified one girl who Megaw allegedly abused.

After the initial allegations surfaced, Upland police interviewed the other 19 students in Megaw's class, and discovered 4 additional alleged victims, Upland police detective William Chani testified Monday.

Police later sent letters to parents of Megaw's students from the prior three school years, Chani testified. The girl Megaw allegedly abused two years ago came forward after her family received the letter.

At least two other students from the prior years' classes told police they were abused by Megaw. But those allegations did not lead to additional criminal charges, Deputy District Attorney Jason Anderson said in an interview after Monday's preliminary hearing.

Megaw, a Rancho Cucamonga resident, was hired by the Upland Unified School District in 1995, and began working at Valencia in 1999.

In addition to his position with the Upland Teachers Association, Megaw held numerous leadership positions with the California Teachers Association.

Megaw resigned in December when prosecutors filed charges. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges and remains free on $600,000 bail.

After Monday's hearing, Megaw's attorney, Leonard Levine, said Megaw is innocent, and is eager to testify at trial if necessary to clear his name.

Levine implied that the letters sent by police to former students may have contributed to a "mob mentality" that led to what he claims are false allegations by students.

"I don't know if (the students) were lying, or mistaken, or exaggerating," Levine said. "... It's one of the three."

Levine said Megaw is not open to taking any plea deal. Levine pointed to Judge Raymond L. Haight, III's ruling Monday failing to hold Megaw to answer on two of the felonies as evidence of the weakness of the prosecution's case.

"The truth is starting to come out, and it's all going to come out at the trial," Levine said.

Anderson, Megaw's prosecutor, said he intends to file all six felony counts against Megaw before an April 14 arraignment hearing, and ask a different judge to hold Megaw to answer on the two counts that Haight ruled against.

"We'll litigate it," Anderson said. "If (the two counts) fall out, they fall out."

One of the attorneys representing Megaw's alleged victims said the victims intend to file a civil lawsuit against Megaw and other defendants by April 20.

Roya E. Fouladi, the attorney, said that in addition to Megaw, defendants named in the filing will include the Upland Unified School District and administrators who may have been in a position to detect and stop the alleged abuse, including Superintendent Gary Rutherford, and the principal and other administrators at Valencia.

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http://www.dailybulletin.com/search/ci_12104105

Upland teacher accused of abuse in 1997

Megaw facing recent charges

Will Bigham, Staff Writer

Created: 04/08/2009 10:19:37 PM PDT

An Upland teacher charged with molesting students was first investigated by Upland police in 1997 on accusations of inappropriate touching, authorities said.

James Andrew Megaw, 42, was accused by a girl in his Baldy View Elementary School class of touching her genitals over her clothing, said Deputy District Attorney Jason Anderson, who is prosecuting Megaw's case.

Upland police investigated the 1997 allegations and forwarded the findings to the San Bernardino County District Attorney's Office for review, Anderson said.

Prosecutors declined to file the case, he said.

"It was a he-said, she-said case, apparently," Anderson said.

Megaw, a Rancho Cucamonga resident, faces multiple felony counts for allegedly molesting students in his class of second- and third-graders at Valencia Elementary School in Upland.

He worked at Valencia Elementary from 1999 until his resignation in December.

The six alleged victims in Megaw's current case include three boys and three girls. Five of the alleged victims were in Megaw's class this school year, and the sixth was in his class during the 2006-07 school year.

The Upland Unified School District in 1997 was made aware of the allegations, Upland police Sgt. Cliff Matthews said.

"The school district was aware of the allegation," Matthews said. "And of course anything else about that you're going to have to ask them about."

Matthews said the department has a document in its police reports from the 1997 case that indicates the district was aware of the allegations.

It remained unclear this week how the district responded internally to the 1997 allegation.

Superintendent Gary Rutherford referred media queries on the issue to attorney Michael DeClues, who was unavailable for comment this week.

"I have no knowledge of those allegations, and I'm going to refer you to counsel," Rutherford said.

Loren Sanchez, the district's superintendent from 1988 to 1999, said Wednesday that he has no memory of anything involving allegations against Megaw from 1997.

"If they didn't bring charges then there's not much you could do in terms of any kind of official stuff," said Sanchez, who is retired and lives in Upland. "Did the principal say something to him? I have no idea, of course. ... It's also possible I just don't remember."

Megaw was hired by the Upland district in 1995, and he worked from 1995 to 1999 at Baldy View Elementary.

In 1997, a third- or fourth-grader in Megaw's class accused Megaw of touching her inappropriately, Anderson said. Megaw was interviewed by Upland police and denied the accusation, Anderson said.

Anderson said that in his review of the 1997 investigation, he has not found any records that indicate officials at the school or the district knew of the allegation.

He said he was unsure why prosecutors rejected the 1997 case. He said he couldn't file charges on the allegation now because the statute of limitations has expired.

"Obviously given the newer allegations, it puts (the accusation) in a different light," Anderson said.

The girl who made the allegation, who is now an adult, was reinterviewed by Upland police after the recent allegations surfaced, Anderson said.

"She had recounted the incident similar to the way she did when it happened," Anderson said. "She was consistent."

Leonard Levine, Megaw's attorney, said Megaw "has consistently denied any wrongdoing against any students or children that he has come into contact with."

Levine said that District Attorney's Office's decision not to file the 1997 case "should tell you everything. What I mean is that obviously the allegations are unfounded."

In search warrants served by Upland police during the current investigation against Megaw, there is a brief mention of the 1997 allegation.

"During the course of this investigation, it was learned that Mr. Megaw was investigated by local law enforcement in reference to a similar incident," the warrant's probable cause declaration says. "The 1997 allegation was unfounded."

Megaw is next due in West Valley Superior Court in Rancho Cucamonga on April 14 for an arraignment hearing.

A judge ruled Monday that Megaw must stand trial on four felony counts for allegedly abusing students.