WOODLAND — A former Harper Junior High School science teacher accused of sexual battery made his first court appearance Tuesday, pleading not guilty to the misdemeanor count.
John Anthony O’Brien, 40, is due back in court March 10 for a pretrial conference at the request of his attorney, Ken Moyal, who said he needs more time to conduct his investigation — including interviews of potential witnesses who might offer insight about O’Brien and his alleged victim.
“We’re going to need to talk to these folks,” Moyal told visiting Yolo Superior Court Judge Stephen Mock during the brief arraignment hearing. “It’s not just one person — it’s several.”
Deputy District Attorney Carolyn Palumbo said in court that, should the case go to trial, she would prefer it happen before the summer due to the involvement of “school-aged kids, vacations, etc.”
Mock assigned the case to Judge Daniel Maguire.
The case stems from a police report made by a 16-year-old Davis boy — a former Harper student whom O’Brien mentored in recent years — who said O’Brien had touched him inappropriately while visiting the teen’s home on the night of Sept. 14, 2014.
Davis police obtained a warrant for O’Brien’s arrest six weeks later. He was cited and released and remains out of custody.
Moyal previously told The Enterprise that his client was “blindsided” by the allegations and that “we are most definitely going to be fighting these charges vigorously.”
O’Brien, who had taught in the Davis Joint Unified School District for 15 years, was placed on administrative leave two days after the police report’s filing. The district also initiated termination proceedings, but those ended in December when O’Brien tendered his resignation.
Due to the pending misconduct allegations, the district must report O’Brien’s resignation to the state’s Commission on Teacher Credentialing, which will determine whether O’Brien’s teaching credential should be suspended or revoked.
— Reach Lauren Keene at lkeene@davisenterprise.net or 530-747-8048. Follow her on Twitter at @laurenkeene
