Benicia teacher charged with sexual acts with student was previously arrested in Napa

BENICIA – A Benicia elementary school teacher who was charged last month with five felonies for alleged sexual acts with a student was previously arrested and acquitted for similar crimes in Napa more than a decade ago, according to public records and sources with knowledge of the investigation.

Matthew Joseph Shelton, 42, a fifth grade teacher at Robert Semple Elementary School, was charged on Feb. 23 with five felony counts of lewd acts with a child under 14 years old for incidents that happened in 2022, according to court records. Two sources with knowledge of the case told the Vallejo Sun that the charges involved Shelton’s interactions with a student at the school. 

Shelton had worked at Robert Semple since 2015. Salary records also indicate that he worked as a substitute teacher for the district prior to that. A Benicia school district official said that as of the 2023-24 school year, Shelton no longer worked for the district.  He is next scheduled to appear in court on March 11. 

Shelton had previously been employed by the Napa Unified School District, where he was hired in 2006 to teach third grade at Phillips Edison Elementary School. He was arrested the following year for alleged inappropriate touching of two 8-year-old and two 9-year-old female students, according to the Napa Valley Register.

After a 6-day trial in 2008, a jury acquitted Shelton of six counts of child molestation. The Napa Valley Register reported that three girls testified at the trial and Shelton’s attorney argued that their stories were fabricated and inconsistent with one another. Shelton’s attorney said after the trial that Shelton’s teaching credential had been suspended and he would seek to have it reinstated.

Benicia schools Superintendent Damon Wright did not respond to questions about Shelton’s arrest and whether the district was aware of Shelton’s prior criminal case when it hired him.

On Tuesday, after the publication of this article, Wright sent an email to district staff and parents addressing the incident, but did not name Shelton.

"Last year, we responded to concerns shared by parents regarding the former employee's behavior, and guided by our district policies and the law, we immediately placed the employee on leave," Wright wrote. He said that an investigation resulted in the employee leaving the district and law enforcement officers conducted a separate investigation. He urged anyone with further information to contact the Solano County District Attorney's Office.

"Working with children is a profound privilege and responsibility, and we hold our employees to expectations of professional conduct," Wright wrote. "I chose to share this message with all employees and families as soon as possible."

Another Benicia school district teacher, middle school math teacher Kurt “Mike” Sindel, was arrested in 2022 for inappropriate sexual communications with a student. Sindel’s misdemeanor charges are still pending.

Gretchen Zimmermann contributed reporting to this article.

Editor's note: This story has been updated to include a statement from Superintendent Damon Wright that was distributed after the article was published and information that Shelton had worked as a substitute for the district before he was hired full time.