Crime

Authorities added another suspected victim to the criminal complaint against Paradise Valley Elementary School teacher John Loyd, 52 of Hollister, and a judge denied the suspected child molester’s request to reduce bail at an Oct. 20 hearing. 

Loyd remains in custody at Santa Clara County Jail with no bail on charges that he sexually assaulted three female victims. At least one of the children was a student at Paradise Valley who alleged being assaulted by Loyd in his fifth-grade classroom, according to authorities.

Investigators have declined to release any further information about the other two victims.

Loyd pleaded not guilty to a total of five charges at the Monday hearing at South County Courthouse, where Superior Court Judge Alfonso Fernandez heard and denied his request to reduce bail. 

With the latest charge added to the list of allegations against Loyd on Monday, he now faces five counts of lewd and lascivious acts with a child, according to the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office. Each charge carries a penalty of 15 years to life in prison. 

Loyd was arrested by Morgan Hill police Oct. 2, after a student at Paradise Valley alleged to another staff member that the teacher made inappropriate contact with her. 

The ongoing investigation has found that Loyd made similar contact with two other students, according to authorities. 

Loyd has been a teacher at MHUSD since 2000. He has taught at Paradise Valley Elementary School since 2008.

The Morgan Hill Unified School District placed Loyd on administrative leave immediately after his arrest, according to MHUSD staff. As of his first court appearance Oct. 7, that leave has been unpaid. 

Loyd’s next hearing is scheduled for Nov. 13 to set a preliminary hearing date.

During an Oct. 7 hearing for accused child molester John Arthur Loyd, a Morgan Hill teacher from Hollister, the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office revealed a second victim had come forward accusing him of inappropriate contact.

Loyd, a teacher at Paradise Valley Elementary School, faces a maximum penalty of life in prison after being arrested Oct. 2 on suspicion of sexually assaulting a student in his classroom. 

“There are two victims that we know of,” Deputy District Attorney Tim McInerney said at South County Courthouse.

The hearing at South County Courthouse was Loyd’s first court appearance since his arrest by Morgan Hill police, who initially accused him of sexually assaulting a single child. Police have continued to investigate the possibility he had additional victims. 

Loyd remains in custody after Superior Court Judge Alfonso Fernandez denied him bail, at least until his next scheduled appearance Oct. 17. Loyd appeared in court wearing a brown Santa Clara County Jail jumpsuit. 

McInerney said no bail is “standard” for defendants accused of sexually assaulting children. Loyd faces a total of four counts in relation to his contact with the two child victims. Each count carries a possible sentence of 15 years to life in prison. 

Police arrested Loyd after a student at Paradise Valley Elementary School told school staff the teacher had inappropriate contact with her. Detectives continued to investigate whether or not there were more victims, and the district attorney's complaint—served to Loyd just before the Oct. 7 hearing—noted an additional victim had been located. 

McInerney identified the second reporting victim only as a minor female “student,” but he declined to specify when asked if she was a student at the same school, citing concerns about protecting her identity. 

After the hearing, the prosecutor called the allegations against Loyd “very disturbing.”

“We treat these crimes very seriously,” McInerney said. 

Loyd waived his formal arraignment at the Oct. 7 hearing, and the judge set his plea hearing for Oct. 17. 

Loyd’s attorney Larry Biegel told the judge he might consider filing a motion to reduce bail at the next hearing. 

Biegel added outside the courthouse after the hearing that he doesn’t know much about the case so far, as he only found out about the second alleged victim during the proceeding.

When Fernandez asked Loyd if he had been served with the complaint, he indicated he had and displayed the paperwork he'd handed to Biegel. 

Biegel said outside the courtroom that he will “look at the facts” before commenting on the allegations. 

“He’s been a teacher in that district for many years with a good reputation,” Biegel said. “(The allegations) are a shock to a lot of people who know him.” 

Loyd’s father attended the hearing, but he declined to comment on the accusations. 

Loyd has been a teacher in MHUSD since 2000, according to district staff. He began teaching at Nordstrom Elementary School and was transferred to Paradise Valley Elementary in southwest Morgan Hill in 2008. 

Authorities did not specify how they found out about the second victim. 

MHUSD Superintendent Steve Betando said in a letter to parents of Paradise Valley students that Loyd was “immediately placed on administrative leave” following his arrest, and will remain on leave until the facts are determined. The letter was dated Oct. 3. 

Betando also scheduled two informational meetings with parents at the school this week to answer questions and respond to concerns about the case. The first of those meetings took place about the same time as the Oct. 7 hearing at South County Courthouse. 

Police said Oct. 3 that Loyd has no previous criminal history. 

MHUSD Assistant Superintendent for Human Resources Fawn Myers added that Loyd’s personnel file does not contain any write-ups or reprimands. 

Counselors at MHUSD middle and high schools have also been notified to offer further support to their students, Myers added. Police have been working with MHUSD staff to notify parents and to determine if Loyd made similar contact with any other students throughout his career at the district.

Anyone with information about this case can call Morgan Hill police Detective Mindy Zen at (408) 779-2101 or the anonymous tip line at (408) 947-7867.