Four more victims accuse former Benicia teacher of sexual abuse

BENICIA – The Benicia Unified School District is facing a second lawsuit accusing the district of failing to take adequate steps to prevent alleged sexual abuse by a former teacher at Robert Semple Elementary School. 

Four students, who are not identified in the suit filed in Solano County Superior Court on April 24, allege Matthew Joseph Shelton, 42, harassed and sexually abused them during the 2022-23 school year.

Shelton, who is also named as a defendant in the lawsuit, was charged this year with seven felony counts of lewd acts with a child for allegations made by two victims. The victims in the criminal case are not involved in the new lawsuit. Shelton’s attorney declined to comment. 

Benicia schools Superintendent Damon Wright said the district’s legal team will review the claims “if or when” the district receives the legal documents. 

The suit alleges Benicia Unified should have known Shelton was unfit to be a teacher, and failed in its duty protect students from harm by providing inadequate supervision and ignoring warning signs. Before he was hired at Benicia, Shelton had been arrested in 2007 for allegations he sexually abused four students in Napa, according to the Napa Valley Register. He was acquitted of those charges.  

A mother of one of the alleged victims in the civil suit, identified as Jane Doe 4, told the Vallejo Sun that she thinks Shelton should never have been given another chance. She said she wants accountability and for her daughter’s voice to be heard. 

“She says, ‘Never, ever would I have ever thought something like this would happen to me,’” the mother said, recounting what her daughter told her. “As a mom, that hurts me to my core, because my child did not deserve that. She deserves to enjoy her childhood, and that was ripped from her.” 

It’s the second lawsuit filed against Benicia Unified regarding Shelton in a span of just weeks as the district continues to grapple with scrutiny around its role in hiring Shelton and how it handled the allegations. 

The family of another student filed a separate lawsuit on April 9, alleging negligence by the school district and sexual abuse by Shelton. After Shelton was criminally charged, the district launched an independent review of its protocols around hiring, supervision, and evaluations, which found the district’s practices were sound.  

In a video message posted on Monday, Wright outlined plans to improve the district’s processes based on recommendations from the  independent review. He said the district will develop a complaint and investigations checklist for administrative staff to quickly determine the different types of complaints, steps needed, and timelines. The district is also moving to digitize its record keeping and reviewing communication policies. 

“We will continue to celebrate those who work in our schools teaching, supporting and nurturing our students with professional integrity,” Wright said. “It is a collective responsibility of all to remain vigilant in our efforts to keep children safe.”

Lawsuit makes new allegations about the district's response

The new lawsuit also alleges the principal at Robert Semple Elementary School, Christina Moore, took steps to ensure “nothing negative” would be said about Shelton’s time at the school during reference checks after he quietly resigned.

Despite multiple students coming forward, the lawsuit alleges that no one in the school or district made any effort to determine whether there were other victims.

About a month after he resigned from Benicia Unified, Shelton was hired as an assistant principal at the West Contra Costa Unified School District, where he worked for about two months while the subject of a criminal investigation before he was placed on leave. 

Moore said in an email that she did not have knowledge of the suit and to forward future inquiries to the superintendent’s office. 

According to the mother of Jane Doe 4, her daughter reported to Moore that Shelton had touched her inappropriately in the fall semester of the 2022-2023 school year. She said Moore told her the district would investigate, but never followed up with her on the outcome. Instead, the mother said, Shelton quietly stopped teaching at the school, and her daughter soon had a substitute teacher.  

“We were just walking around blind,” the mother said. 

Wright said the district took immediate action after learning of concerns about Shelton by placing him on leave in December 2022. He said the district promptly contacted law enforcement and filed a report with Child Protective Services. 

The Benicia school district reviewed its processes in response to the allegations

Facing pressure to respond to concerns around the district’s vetting and handling of complaints, the district brought on consultant Sherri Beetz to conduct an audit into its systems and protocols. Beetz, a former assistant superintendent of human resources with the Castro Valley Unified School District, provided a positive review of the district’s hiring and training procedures during a school board meeting in April.

Beetz said that in her review, she interviewed human resources staff and administrators as well as union leaders. She described the district’s hiring procedures as “clear and comprehensive” and found evidence that the district provided training on complaint procedures, federal protections against sex discrimination, and grooming behavior. She did, however, say some administrators want more training on investigations.

Beetz also strongly recommended putting procedures in place to require staff to only communicate with students and parents through district channels. 

Brendan Gilbert, an attorney with Taylor & Ring who represents the five plaintiffs in the two lawsuits against the district, said he could not see how the district could be praised for its training in wake of multiple misconduct allegations against a teacher. 

“If your practices are so great, then how did this happen?” Gilbert said. 

The audit presented to the school board did not mention Shelton or the specific allegations against him. Wright said the review was conducted to ensure the district met "best practices'' expectations. He said the administration has consistently sought input and recommended changes to improve. 

Elizabeth Jeglic, a professor of psychology at the City University of New York John Jay College of Criminal Justice who studies sexual violence prevention, said districts should conduct a root cause analysis to understand what went wrong when allegations surface. 

Even if policies and procedures are in place, those policies may not be adequate or followed appropriately, and a root cause analysis could identify potential breakdowns, Jeglic said. 

“When you have an incident like this, and of such a serious nature, it is really important to understand what went wrong,” Jeglic said. “Looking at the hiring procedure, did you do everything that you said you would've done? If it happened on school property, why was there not adequate supervision?” 

The district is moving forward with plans to improve some of its protocols. Wright is assembling a committee to review procedures and draft recommendations related to reducing risks around field trips and volunteers. 

Shelton seeks to block release of records of past complaints

For his part, Shelton has filed a petition to stop the Napa Valley Unified School District and Benicia Unified from releasing records related to his tenure requested by the Vallejo Sun and others. 

According to the petition, the Solano County District Attorney's Office has already obtained records related to Shelton from Napa Valley Unified through a search warrant. 

The complaint argues that disclosure of the records would “make it virtually impossible for Mr. Shelton to have a fair criminal trial.”

A hearing on the matter is scheduled for Wednesday. Shelton is next scheduled in court on May 6. 

The mother of Jane Doe 4, one of the former students in the new lawsuit, said a detective showed up at their door last year as part of the criminal investigation. Her daughter was afraid of being interviewed, especially when her mother could not be in the same room with her. 

“We've never had encounters with the police, let alone a detective,” the mother said. “She was just really scared.” 

But now her daughter wants to speak out, and the mother is considering pursuing criminal charges against Shelton. 

“If she cannot do it, I will do it for her. I will be her voice. I will protect her, and I will fight until the end,” the mother said. "It will at least give her some peace and tranquility to know that the people that did this are being held accountable.”