Substitute Teacher Accused Of Lewd Acts On Students: SRPD

SANTA ROSA, CA — A 69-year-old Santa Rosa man was arrested Monday after the Santa Rosa Police Department investigated reports that he inappropriately touched students while working as a substitute teacher for the Piner-Olivet Union School District, an official with the police department said in a news release.

Thomas Joseph Weber, 69, remained behind bars Tuesday at Sonoma County jail on suspicion of two felony counts of lewd acts on a child, with his bail set at $200,000 pending a court appearance set for Wednesday, according to SRPD and Sonoma County jail records.

Santa Rosa police started investigating Weber at about 1 p.m. Friday when faculty at Jack London Elementary School reported that based on information they'd received from students, a substitute teacher may have touched at least two female students inappropriately, SRPD Sgt. Brenda Harrington said in a news release.

The sergeant noted that once the school district was made aware of the allegations, they sent Weber home and told him there was enough staffing for the day — giving detectives time to "thoroughly investigate the case."

After detectives from SRPD's Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Team conducted numerous interviews over the weekend, they determined that on Thursday, Feb. 14, Weber "inappropriately touched at least two middle school-aged female students over their clothing," Harrington said.

Weber was taken into custody at 2:45 p.m. Monday at the Santa Rosa Police Department.

The investigation is ongoing, Harrington said; anyone who may have additional information is asked to call SRPD Detective Boehm at 707-543-3595.

Patch sent a request for comment Tuesday to the Piner-Olivet Union School District and will update this post should we hear back.

Jail booking photo courtesy Santa Rosa Police Department