Guilty! Michael Merrick, Lafayette, California (arrested Oct 2010)

TMP · Jan 22, 2012

Name: Michael Merrick, Lafayette, California

Age: 47

School: Stanley Middle School [Lafayette School District], Lafayette, California

Position: Wood technology & science teacher, 8th grade girls' volleyball coach

Victim: Girl, 14

KRON 4 (28 Oct 2010): Update: Lafayette Teacher Accused of Sending Female Molestation Victim 140 Sexually Explicit Texts per Day

KRON 4 said:

Authorities now say 47-year old Michael Merrick assaulted the female student during tutoring sessions at the school. Investigators say Merrick sent the victim as many as 140 sexually explicit text messages per day.
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Lamorinda Patch (28 Oct 2010): Stanley Middle School Teacher Arrested On Allegation of Committing Lewd Acts With Child

Lamorinda Patch said:

Investigators said a molestation was reported to the Lafayette Police Department on Oct. 25. Police interviewed the alleged victim, a 14-year-old who reported being molested at least three times during tutoring sessions and receiving up to 140 text messages from [Michael] Merrick every day. Many of these messages were sexual in nature, police said.
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ABC Local KGO (29 Oct 2010): Lafayette teacher arrested on molestation charges

ABC Local KGO said:

[Michael] Merrick, who is a teacher at Stanley Middle School in Lafayette, tutors children on a private basis at the school and also serves as a youth sports coach, according to police. On Monday, police received reports of a molestation at the school. The victim told police the molestation occurred during tutoring sessions and also involved sexual text messages received from Merrick.
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Lamorinda Patch (29 Oct 2010): Lafayette Rocked By News of Teacher’s Arrest; Many Offer Support

Lamorinda Patch said:

... Merrick, 47, remains in custody at the Martinez Detention Facility, awaiting arraignment Monday on 17 felony counts and with his bail set at more than $3 million.
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TMP · Jan 22, 2012

Lamorinda Patch (1 Nov 2010): Lafayette Teacher Arraigned, Expected to Enter Plea Thursday

Lamorinda Patch said:

Michael Merrick, the 47-year-old Lafayette resident and middle school teacher facing 17 felony counts after an alleged sexual relationship with a minor pupil, was arraigned Monday before Judge Gregory Caskey ... Merrick, dressed in a jail-issue yellow jumpsuit, was obviously emotional, his lip quivering, but said nothing as [attorney Peter] Orth addressed the court.
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Lamorina Patch (4 Nov 2010): Merrick Pleads Not Guilty To All Counts

Lamorina Patch said:

The Stanley Middle School teacher accused of 17 felony counts after an alleged sexual affair with a 14-year-old girl pleaded not guilty to those charges Thursday. Michael Merrick conferred with attorney Elizabeth Grossman prior to entering his plea before Judge Gregory Claskey and answered only "yes" when Claskey asked if he understood his decision to waive his right to a preliminary hearing.
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TMP · Jan 22, 2012

Lamorinda Patch (9 Dec 2010): Lafayette Teacher Says He Let Texting To Student 'Get Out of Hand'

Lamorinda Patch said:

By July, she told another officer, many of the messages would be about Merrick masturbating and wanting her to do the same, which made her so uncomfortable that she hesitated even to discuss them with a male police officer, according to the report. The texting turned physical later that month, the girl alleges in the reported interview, when Merrick began touching her sexually during math tutoring sessions and asked her to do the same for him. It also says she denied his request for oral sex. The girl's father brought the matter to police attention at the end of October, when it was discovered that his daughter and Merrick had been sending each other dozens of text messages per day for some time. His daughter had deleted the text messages before he had a chance to read them, the report noted, saying the contents have not been saved.
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There are quite a few more details in this article.

TMP · Jan 22, 2012

San Gabriel Valley Tribune (12 Aug 2011): Lafayette middle school teacher headed to trial for 25 felony sex crime charges

San Gabriel Valley Tribune said:

A popular Lafayette middle school teacher on Friday was ordered to go to trial on 25 felony sex crime charges for allegedly molesting a 14-year-old student last year. "In my mind, this is a person who needs to be stopped right away. This is a person who probably should never teach children again," Contra Costa County Judge Nancy Davis Stark said at a hearing for Stanley Middle School teacher Michael Merrick. A prosecutor said the 48-year-old Lafayette resident tested physical boundaries with other female students prior to molesting the victim in the case, a claim that Merrick's attorney denied. Merrick wiped away tears as his attorney argued that Merrick had been a well-respected member of the community prior to his arrest last October. In giving her holding order, Judge Stark said she found the victim "very credible." ...
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TMP · Jan 22, 2012

Contra Costa Times (20 Jan 2012): Lafayette middle school teacher sentenced to more than five years prison for molesting student

Contra Costa Times said:

A former teacher at Stanley Middle School in Lafayette was sentenced Friday to five years and eight months in prison for molesting a female student on campus in 2010. Michael Merrick, a 48-year-old Lafayette resident, had been scheduled to go to trial Monday on 25 felony charges but instead chose to take a plea deal and pleaded guilty to six felony counts of sex crimes against a minor. He is required to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life.
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San Jose Mercury News (20 Jan 2012): Lafayette middle school teacher sentenced to more than five years prison for molesting student

San Jose Mercury News said:

[Deputy district attorney Johanna] Schonfield required Merrick to admit wrongdoing as part of the plea deal. Speaking in a low tone from inside a courtroom cell, Merrick admitted that he molested the girl on campus and apologized to her, her family, his family, his students and the rest of the Stanley Middle School community. "I betrayed a position of trust," Merrick said. "I was the adult and solely responsible for what occurred."
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Lamorinda Patch (20 Jan 2012): Merrick Pleads Guilty to Six Felony Counts; Sentenced to State Prison

Lamorinda Patch said:

Merrick, 48, was scheduled for court trial on the charges Monday. Instead, he pleaded guilty to six felony counts in court Friday and was sentenced to five years and eight months in prison. He will be required to register as a sex offender ... Merrick was ordered to pay restitution to the victim and to register as a lifetime sex offender.
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TMP · Oct 20, 2012

Contra Costa Times: Lawsuit: Lafayette School District knew of teacher fondling students before 2010 arrest (Oct 17 2012)

Lafayette School District employees received complaints of a popular Stanley Middle School teacher fondling female students before the teacher's 2010 arrest for sexually abusing a 14-year-old girl, according to a civil suit filed in Contra Costa Superior Court. The school district, Superintendent Fred Brill, Stanley Principal David Schrag and former teacher Michael Merrick are being sued by the girl who Merrick was found guilty of sexually abusing in his classroom over a four-month period. The lawsuit, filed in March, asks for money for past and future medical expenses, a punitive award and general damages.

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Guilty! Michael Merrick, Lafayette, California (arrested Oct 2010)

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Guilty! Michael Merrick, Lafayette, California (arrested Oct 2010)

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