Sacramento substitute teacher remained in classroom despite years of sexual misconduct accusations

By Brittany Johnson

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    SACRAMENTO, California (KCRA) — Parents are calling for justice after a substitute teacher was allowed to remain in Sacramento-area schools for years despite documented complaints of groping, getting uncomfortably close to female students and inappropriate language.

In spite of the detailed documents outlining various complaints from students and teachers, Andy H. Rivas, the now former Sacramento City Unified School District substitute teacher, was able to fly under the radar and remain teaching children for several years.

It wasn’t until November 2022 when two Sam Brannan Middle School students and their parents spoke out to KCRA 3 about the sexual misconduct they say the students experienced at the hands of Rivas, that the school district would take action.

After the two students spoke out in November and claimed that Rivas touched their butt and breasts, KCRA 3 Investigates began digging into Rivas’ background to see if there were any other groping allegations reported by students to the school district.

We put in a public records request with the Sacramento City Unified School District for Rivas’ personnel file. We found 19 complaints were made by students and staff about Rivas, and those complaints were submitted to the district via Evaluation Forms, through email and on Confidential Witness Statements.

At least three of the complaints were about Rivas touching female students on their butts and breasts, five complaints about students feeling uncomfortable and Rivas using offensive language, and four different complaints from staff reporting Rivas being incompetent and not showing up for class.

The accusations and complaints were made over the last two decades in at least six different schools in the Sacramento City Unified School District.

Timeline of incidents 2006 Elder Creek Elementary School: A teacher sent an email to administration and requested Andy Rivas “not be assigned to this school again this school year,” because “his incompetence of reading and following lesson plans has led me to believe that he is an incompetent substitute for our school this year.”

2006 Elder Creek Elementary School: According to a Substitute Teacher Evaluation Form, “Andy Rivas did not show up for his class.”

2015 Sutter Middle School: A teacher filled out a Substitute Teacher Evaluation Form and stated Rivas’ “skill in handling pupils” was “poor”, and requested Rivas “not be assigned to this high school again this school year” after the teacher was informed by students that, “there was a verbal interaction between Mr. Rivas and students that was extremely inappropriate. It was stated Mr. Rivas told a student to use scissors to cut his penis off and poop. Also, he told another student to not use the women’s restroom. Student was a male student.”

2015 Sutter Middle School: A student filled out a Confidential Witness Statement and said, “I asked the substitute can I use the bathroom and he offered me scissors. Then I asked why do I need these? He said to cut off your penis and (?) dookie. Then he said it will be much easier.”

Three other students also filled out Confidential Witness Statements to report this incident.

2015 Sutter Middle School: According to a Confidential Witness Statement filled out by a male student, when he “asked to use the restroom,” the student reported he received permission from Rivas, and then Rivas said, “don’t use the girl’s restroom. I knew that it didn’t mean much but other people thought it was necessary to report because they thought he said it because I am gay.”

2015 McClatchy High School: According to a Substitute Teacher Evaluation Form, an educator reported that Rivas’ “Skill in handling pupils” was poor, his “attitude toward class” was “poor,” his “relationships with parents and/or other staff” was “poor,” his “potential for regular employment” was “poor,” and requested that Rivas “not be assigned to this school again this school year.”

2015 McClatchy High School: A staff member at the high school wrote an email to school administration after she said Rivas “made negative comments and derogatory comments about [student’s name redacted], that he looks like he is an ex-con or had been in prison because of all of his tattoos.” The staff member also reported that Rivas proceeded to ask her where her tattoos were and what they were of. “He then asked if I had any tattoos in places that could be seen wearing a bikini on the beach…” She went on to say that Rivas made her feel, “extremely uncomfortable,” and she “felt his questions and comments were inappropriate for the students” and for herself.

2016 Luther Burbank High School: According to a Substitute Teacher Evaluation Form, a teacher requested that Rivas “not be assigned to this school again this school year” after a student reported being physically touched by Rivas “in an inappropriate manner” and after he “invited her to his house.”

2016 Luther Burbank High School: In a written account from a student to school administration, the high school student reported that Rivas asked her to go to the classroom and “assist him with a movie for his fourth period class.” She also reported that Rivas asked her to “come kick it with him at his house on the weekend and during spring break,” said she was “cute” and put his “arm around” her “shoulders” as she was walking toward the door, said, “You know I’ve had a crush on you, right? I’ve liked you since I first saw you.” The student said Rivas then “smacked my butt.”

2022 Health Professions High School: On a Substitute Teacher Evaluation Form, an educator wrote that students and parents reported that the “sub was making female students uncomfortable with comments regarding female volleyball players and proximity to females in the class was seen as too close.”

2022 Sam Brannan Middle School: According to a Substitute Teacher Evaluation Form, a staff member requested Rivas “not be assigned to this school again this school year” after students reported “feeling uncomfortable about the way Mr. Rivas looks at them, touched their butt and breast.”

2022 Sam Brannan Middle School: A student reported via Confidential Witness Statement “Mr. R touched my butt when I was wearing a dress.”

2022 Sam Brannan Middle School: A student reported that Rivas “grabbed my boob and stuff and then pulled my hair,” when she asked a question, according to a Confidential Witness Statement.

2022 Sam Brannan Middle School: A student said Rivas was “being a little weird” and made them “uncomfortable” because he was looking at the student’s “chest” and “back end.”

KCRA 3 Investigates reached out to Rivas to get his side of the story. We used a phone number, email and address listed online, but could not get in touch with him.

We went back to tell the two Sam Brannan Middle School students and their mothers, who we originally spoke with, what we discovered.

“All that is in his file? Why is it overlooked?” Nearline Poston, the mother of one of the 8th-grade girls at Sam Brannan Middle School who reported having her butt touched by Rivas, asked KCRA 3 Investigates. “They just need to lock him up. Throw away the key.”

“It’s concerning,” said Latoya, the mother of another 8th-grade girl at Sam Brannan Middle School who reported having her butt groped by Rivas.

All of the accusations against Rivas were written and signed by students and staff on Confidential Witness Statements, emails, Substitute Teacher Evaluation forms, and letters, and then turned in to the school administration.

Even with all the documented allegations, Rivas was still allowed to teach in Sacramento City Unified schools until November 2022.

“If actions were taken sooner against the teacher, would this have happened to your daughter?” KCRA 3 Investigates’ Brittany Johnson asked Poston.

“No!” Poston replied.

“Did the school district fail to protect your daughter?” Johnson asked.

“Yes, they did,” Poston replied. “They failed to protect all these kids. They failed to protect their staff as well. Our kids aren’t safe in school anymore. The system is failing our kids, period.”

The other Sam Brannan eighth grader, whose identity we’re keeping confidential and who reported being groped by Rivas on the butt, said “something should have been done” about the previous complaints made about Rivas.

“This should have never happened,” the eighth-grade girl told KCRA 3.

The girl’s mother, Latoya, said she was “completely livid” with the situation.

“I’m hurt as a parent, as a person, as a member of the community. I’m disappointed with the school district. I don’t know if it was a, you know, a lack of desire. Did they not care? Is it because of the shortage of teachers? What did they place as a priority over the safety and the well-being of our children?

“They [SCUSD] were very clear in their message by allowing him [Rivas] to continue to teach and they continued to push away all of these different incidences that came up,” Latoya added. “They were very clear that we’re not a priority to them, that the children are not a priority. That him working was more important than the safety of the children.”

The school district would not do an on-camera interview with KCRA 3 Investigates, but it did provide the following statement for this story:

“The Sacramento City Unified School District treats student safety as its highest priority and works diligently to ensure our campuses provide a safe and welcoming environment that is free from harassment of any kind. We deeply regret that a substitute teacher behaved inappropriately toward students. Such behavior is unacceptable, but it is especially reprehensible when a trusted adult mistreats students. This incident has demonstrated the need for system improvements within the District. Sac City Unified has begun and is fully committed to identifying and addressing breakdowns that occurred.

On November 16, 2022, SCUSD Human Resources was notified of two separate complaints by students at Sam Brannan Middle School alleging a substitute teacher had touched them inappropriately. District staff immediately had the substitute teacher removed from the classroom. The employee was released as a substitute in our District the following day and the alleged misconduct was reported to the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing.

The District’s preliminary investigation also revealed a gap in time from when the incident was first reported to the Sam Brannan staff to the time appropriate action was taken. This delay is regrettable and the District has taken a number of actions to make changes and improvements to its reporting protocols.

A District review of the substitute teacher’s personnel file showed prior incidents of concern, which led Sac City Unified to examine its practices, identify lapses, and work to institute corrective actions, including:

Working with an outside consultant to review and enhance our record keeping processes Transitioning to automated processes for improved efficiency Providing additional mandated California Child Abuse and Neglect Reporting Act (CANRA) training for administrators Working cooperatively with law enforcement in their investigation” “I don’t believe that that’s true accountability,” Latoya said in response to the district’s statement. “It’s more like apologize, or I’m sorry that I got caught. I’m not sorry for the crime that was committed or the actual incident.”

“I understand that not all people are bad. I understand that are a multitude of great teachers and staff and people who work with children who have their best interest at heart, but I really feel like them using things like, ‘dropped the ball’ and ‘slipped through the cracks,’ kind of dismissive words like that — it was just hurtful,” Latoya added. “It’s traumatic, and I wish that they would have provided more support, at least to the victims.”

KCRA 3 Investigates also emailed SCUSD questions that we wanted to be answered. One of the questions we asked was why the district only took action to release Rivas as a substitute after the allegations were made against him at Sam Brannan Middle School in 2022, despite years of misconduct allegations that were reported to individual schools.

The district did not answer the question and referred us to its original statement.

“What do you want from the school district?” asked Johnson.

“Justice,” Poston replied. “I don’t want him teaching. And I want them to start doing thorough checks anytime a kid makes an allegation. When they come and make the allegation, it should be taken to a superior, not a complaint note. And then they take action right then and there and do an investigation right then and there and do not wait.”

Attorney Michael Rehm is representing both Poston and Latoya on a Claim for Damages filed against Sacramento City Unified School District.

We spoke with Rehm about the legal process.

“You generally try and resolve it prior to going to court if you can. I really don’t want to drag a child through civil litigation if I can avoid it,” he said.

If this case cannot be resolved out of court, Rehm said he will take further action.

“If they’re not willing to do that, then we’re going to sue the school district for negligent hiring, supervision, retention, and child sex, sexual abuse.”

The school district did file a police report with the Sacramento Police Department.

Sacramento PD confirmed that it is “still an active investigation” and “no arrests have been made.”

The school district also notified the Commission on Teacher Credentialing that it released Andy Rivas as a substitute teacher from the district due to allegations of inappropriate conduct.

The CTC, which oversees teacher licensing and credentialing, confirmed to KCRA 3 Investigates that it is also investigating the case against Rivas.

The school district is encouraging students and or staff to contact its human resources department if there are any other incidents related to Andy Rivas.

We checked with 15 districts in the Sacramento region and of those that responded none of them said Rivas works or has worked there.

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