DA dismisses sex abuse case against fired Oakland teacher

OAKLAND Prosecutors have dismissed the child sex abuse incident against a former tutor at Oakland School of the Arts ending a saga that spanned years and included a seven-figure lawsuit settlement against the school Jeremy Taylor had been charged with committing a lewd act upon a child years or younger along with enhancements alleging substantial sexual contact as well as selecting a vulnerable victim and being in a position of trust But in a March court hearing prosecutors dismissed the event citing lack of corroborating evidence beyond the single alleged victim s complaint The occurrence was dismissed amid an ongoing dispute with the OSA which had been ordered by a judge to explain why it was lagging in compliance with a subpoena to produce records related to Taylor and the alleged victim On March the day the order to show cause was to be heard the Alameda County District Attorney s Office dismissed the incident Taylor s lawyer Liz Grossman didn t respond to multiple attempts to reach her by phone She recounted KQED that Taylor has unfailingly been steadfast in his innocence and is grateful that justice has ultimately been obtained against these false and ruinous accusations The alleged victim known only as Jane Doe in court records spoke at the March hearing referring to Taylor as a sexual abuser who brainwashed her and that she still struggles with trauma self-abuse and trust issues to this day I desire the unhealthy bond we once had I loved this man smiled and was genuinely okay with him raping me over and over and over again Doe revealed in court I hate myself that I wished to be with him in that way and make him happy make him proud I hate myself that I still care about him Prosecutors allege that Taylor molested the victim on an ongoing basis from September to September when Taylor was - years old Police didn t start scrutinizing him until last year when the alleged victim confided in a friend what had happened and she called the Oakland Police Department In her March announcement the girl stated that she resented her friend for coming forward to police and hadn t longed the development to be prosecuted She disclosed her friend s betrayal and abandonment still breaks me to this day and that she d been negatively affected by media coverage of the incident Taylor remained with the school for years after the alleged abuse and was fired in after a third-party examination ascertained he had engaged in grooming behavior with multiple students and had a sexual relationship with one scholar KQED published The investigators used a lower legal standard than jurors are given for criminal trials During the program of the scenario Grossman requested a wide range of documentation related to OSA records the alleged victim s mental fitness her email communication with Taylor and her hospital records according to court filings A judge approved almost all of them In December Alameda County Judge David Pereda ordered the charter school to demonstrate why it was not accomplishable to produce a litany of additional records including which classes Taylor taught administrator emails and copies of everything the school had turned over to Oakland police The records had been subpoenaed months earlier the judge s order reported In a separate situation the girl sued OSA and received a seven-figure settlement KQED informed Taylor had been warned by staff for having private meetings with students during the time of the alleged abuse according to court records Police commented in court filings that they talked to students who revealed he would offer their peers coffee or hugs and one saw the name of a learner written in condensation inside Taylor s motorcycle In May a school administrator advised Taylor to stop counseling students in private meetings Taylor responded with a memo stating he sought to give students a safe space to talk about family issues eating disorders self-harm behavior and the like according to police This warning was repeated in September after a pupil emailed Taylor seeking to meet with him for lunch and stating she missed him Two weeks after that the mother of another learner the same girl whose name was allegedly written in condensation on the window of Taylor s car pulled her out of his math class When the girl apologized Taylor allegedly responded that she and him could discuss it but he will insist however that it be in person followed by a smiley face emoji The following year he emailed the same girl asking for pictures of her to properly wallpaper his room according to police The school which teaches students from th to th grades distributed a community report saying it strives to ensure a safe supportive and discrimination-free learning climate in which students can thrive