Substitute pleads not guilty to misdemeanor charge of annoying
student at MH school
A substitute school teacher from Hollister pleaded not guilty
Tuesday to a downgraded misdemeanor charge of annoying and
molesting a 13-year-old Morgan Hill girl, whom he allegedly hounded
with e-mails, handwritten and typed poems and phone calls to her
home.
A substitute school teacher from Hollister pleaded not guilty Tuesday to a downgraded misdemeanor charge of annoying and molesting a 13-year-old Morgan Hill girl, whom he allegedly hounded with e-mails, handwritten and typed poems and phone calls to her home.
Tras Gustav Berg, 27, entered the plea when he was arraigned before Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge Kenneth Shapero in San Martin. The suspect posted $25,000 bail Christmas Day after being arrested the day before as he left his Hollister home.
Shapero ordered Berg back to court Feb. 20 to schedule a pre-trial hearing. Meanwhile, Berg was ordered not to have any contact with the victim – directly, indirectly or through third parties – and to remain a minimum of 200 yards from her home, her family and Britton Middle School in Morgan Hill, where the victim attends class and Berg taught.
“We’re encouraged that the district attorney looked at it carefully and filed a misdemeanor charge. We’re going to conduct an investigation to determine what happened and our objective is to resolve the matter without a trial,” Berg’s attorney Thomas Worthington said.
Morgan Hill police originally booked Berg on the misdemeanor and on a felony as well – Penal Code section 288(a) that defines lewd and lascivious conduct with a child under 14 years old.
Investigators say Berg kissed the girl once on the mouth during a campus break.
“We believe it was a peck kiss,” said Santa Clara County Deputy District Attorney Robert Mestman.
It would require more physical touching to support the felony charge of lewd and lascivious conduct, Mestman said. The felony involves acting with the intent of arousing the passion and sexual desire of a minor.
Conviction on either charge would mean an end to Berg’s teaching career. A longtime substitute in Morgan Hill school district, Berg taught the fall 2001 semester at Live Oak High School and had been employed periodically at Britton since February 2002.
“This is a major issue with major impact,” Worthington said.
Berg allegedly met the victim on the Britton campus where he had been substituting for an industrial arts teacher out with a sports injury. He was suspended within hours of his arrest.
The maximum penalty for the misdemeanor charge is one year in jail, a $1,000 fine and a lifetime requirement of registering as a sex offender, Mestman said.
“We’ll ask the maximum penalty. There’ll be no deals,” Mestman said.
Mestman said the investigation is continuing, adding that investigators will be looking for other victims.
