A classroom aide who worked with disabled students in San Francisco public schools for about a decade until this week has been charged with several felonies for allegedly sexually abusing a child years ago.
San Francisco Unified School District paraeducator Calvin Tran, 36, was arrested Thursday on suspicion of sexual assault over a period between 2015 and 2018.
Prosecutors say Tran molested a child in multiple locations, including at Francisco Middle School, where the victim was a student.
A LinkedIn profile for Tran (opens in new tab) lists him as a part-time special education aide at SFUSD “with over 10 years dedicated experience working with students from elementary, middle and high school.” It also appears he worked at Argonne Elementary School (opens in new tab), various community centers, a YMCA, and a church.
Tran appeared in court Friday, where a judge denied bail because of the public safety risk he poses, according to the San Francisco district attorney’s office. He faces charges of committing lewd acts on a child, continuous sexual abuse, oral copulation of a person under 14, aggravated sexual assault of a child, forcible oral copulation of a minor 14 or older, and four counts of meeting a minor for lewd purposes.
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The criminal complaint accuses Tran of “substantial sexual conduct” with the victim.
He’s set to be arraigned Dec. 3 at the Hall of Justice.
According to the San Francisco Police Department (opens in new tab), the victim filed a report about the abuse in August.
The resulting investigation by the Special Victims Unit corroborated claims that Tran carried on an inappropriate relationship for several years, until the victim was a teenager, the SFPD said.
“The victim was a student in a school where the suspect was a teacher,” police said.
On Thursday, the SFPD’s fugitive recovery team found Tran at Mission and Ney streets and arrested him.
The SFPD says it’s working closely with the SFUSD “to address safety issues for its students and staff in and around schools.”
When asked for comment, a SFUSD spokesperson Laura Dudnick referred to a message Superintendent Maria Su sent in a districtwide email late Friday afternoon.
“Immediately upon learning about the allegations, the district placed this person on leave from their current work location in SFUSD,” Su wrote (opens in new tab). “Because this is an active law enforcement investigation, we are limited in what we can share and we do not know specifics.”
Su said the district requires all employees to pass criminal background checks and complete a course (opens in new tab) on how to recognize and report suspected child abuse, neglect, or exploitation. It also trains staff about proper adult-student boundaries.
“We care deeply about the safety and well-being of our students, and we are aware of the trust you place in our staff to keep your children safe,” Su said. “Please know that your child’s safety is of the utmost importance to us, and as a school district, we will continue to take measures to prevent harm to students while at school.”
Though charges have been filed, police are still investigating the case and urge anyone with information to call detectives at (415) 575-4444 or text TIP411 with a message starting with “SFPD.”