A 43-year-old teacher in Walnut Creek, California, has been charged with rape, unlawful sexual intercourse, and assault of a student — and he admitted to all of it on a wiretapped phone call with his victim. Since his arrest, however, his attorney successfully argued that he is not a danger to the public and a judge has released him.
Key Takeaways:
- In May, Gerard Flaherty, a teacher at Contra Costa School of Performing Arts, was arrested for raping an underage student.
- His arrest came after a student participated with police in wiretapping a phone call between her and Flaherty in which she told him she is pregnant and keeping the baby.
- After Flaherty panicked, telling her to have an abortion because he would go to jail and she would “ruin” his children’s lives if she kept the baby, police had enough information to arrest him.
- Flaherty has since pleaded not guilty and was released without bail.
What’s Happening:
In May, Gerard Flaherty, a teacher at Contra Costa School of Performing Arts, was arrested on charges that he had raped an underage student at the grade 6-12 school. Now, new information has come to light regarding the assault and how Flaherty’s arrest came about.
The Bay Area News Group reports that Flaherty admitted to the crime during a secretly wiretapped phone call with his victim. During that call, police listened in as the girl told Flaherty that she was pregnant. She did not say who the father was, but when she told Flaherty that she would not be having an abortion, he panicked and exposed the truth.
“I would go to jail if that happened,” he said during the call on April 30. “They, they, they’ll do a DNA test … I just, it would, it would ruin so many lives.” Even though the girl said she didn’t want or agree with an abortion, he pressured her, saying he didn’t either, but “this is a little bit of a different situation.” He asked, “Can we get you scheduled with an appointment [for an abortion]?”
He and the girl agreed to meet in person to discuss the situation and that’s when police stepped in to arrest Flaherty, pulling him over as he drove to meet the girl.
A search of his office revealed beer bottles and empty alcohol bottles. Police seized his computer, which he used to monitor security cameras to ensure no one came to his office during the assault. His office also included a couch with blankets, beanbags, and a covering over the door window.
On a dry erase board was written “Free K Relly,” an anagram of R Kelly, the R&B singer currently in prison for child sex trafficking and child pornography.
Flaherty was charged with rape, unlawful sexual intercourse and assault. However, Contra Costa Judge John Kennedy released Flaherty without bail. Since then, parents have come forward with tips for police, saying that Flaherty’s behavior had long been a concern and they were not happy with how the school handled it.
Flaherty has pleaded not guilty and is due in court in late July.
The Backstory:
According to Mercury News, Flaherty had a reputation of visiting with students with his office door closed. One parent said the school’s executive director, Catherine Foster, sent an email to his wife saying their daughter should spend time with Flaherty.
The girl who helped police get evidence on Flaherty told officers that in February, Flaherty told her he had alcohol in his office that he could share with her after she gave him a hug. He then began fondling her and forcibly raped her. She said he paid to get her a “Plan B” emergency contraception pill and police said they found a $400 money transfer that lines up with that allegation.
Zoom Out:
Flaherty is unfortunately not the first teacher to be arrested for raping a student. Last year a former student from a East Bay, California, school filed a lawsuit against her former teacher, accusing him of sexual assault and alleging that he forced her to have an abortion.
On March 22, 2024, Shawn Thomas was arrested on charges of rape and sexual assault and on April 17, his former student filed a lawsuit under the name “Jane Doe.” At the time of his arrest, Thomas was still teaching at Leigh High School in San José, where he has worked for the past 24 years. He has now been placed on administrative leave.
In April of 2022, Chicago-area dean of students Brian Crowder, was arrested on criminal sexual assault of a minor charges for allegedly raping a female student. He twice impregnated her and forced her to have an abortion each time.
The Bottom Line:
It’s a common tactic of sexual abusers to bring their pregnant victims to an abortion business like Planned Parenthood.
Live Action’s Aiding Abusers investigation exposed this horrific truth, including information from a study that found 55% of sex trafficking victims were forced into abortions, with 30% having had more than one. One survivor told researchers, “I was under serious pressure from my pimps to abort the babies.”
These young victims were often taken to Planned Parenthood — the nation’s number one abortion business — because, as one victim explained, “Planned Parenthood didn’t ask any questions.”
