DUBLIN — The former Castro Valley High School music teacher charged with sexually abusing a student has turned himself in to authorities and is in custody at the Santa Rita Jail in Dublin, the Alameda County Sherrif’s Office said.
Keita Hasegawa, who taught band at Creekside Middle School before moving to the high school in 2021, was charged with seven felonies, including multiple child molestation charges, a count of meeting a minor for lewd purposes and enhancements alleging he targeted a “vulnerable” victim and abused a “position of trust.”
Jail records indicate Hasegawa, 31, was booked Thursday afternoon and that his arraignment is set for 8:30 a.m. Monday at the Wiley W. Manuel Courthouse in Oakland.
The Alameda County District Attorney’s Office issued a warrant for Hasegawa’s arrest earlier this week for charges related to the felony counts of child sexual abuse. The alleged offenses occurred in 2021 and 2022, according to prosecutors.
Hasegawa met the alleged victim when she was an 11-year-old middle school student, according to police, who say the girl told police that he had kissed her when she was just 13. Police allege that the sexual abuse progressed after the girl entered high school.
At an April 26 Castro Valley Unified School District meeting, several students spoke out against Hasegawa, calling for him to be fired. One girl said she’d seen him “cross lines,” accusing him of classroom violence, acting “incredibly immature,” hanging out one-on-one with “usually female students,” and accused him of inappropriate texting with students. Police say they verified that Hasegawa and the alleged victim exchanged lewd texts and audio.
Staff writer Nate Gartrell contributed to this report
Source: www.mercurynews.com