A South San Francisco middle school teacher is accused of sex crimes with students, police said.
Police arrested Joseph Goodman Toy at his home in San Bruno on Thursday. He is accused of lewd and lascivious acts with minors at Westborough Middle School.
Toy has been teaching at the school for 13 years.
Police say Toy had been having inappropriate interactions with juvenile students during school hours.
Toy was booked on felony charges.
The investigation started on Apr. 25.
That is when Toy was placed on administrative leave.
Here is a statement from the school:
To our SSFUSD Community,
We have been informed by the South San Francisco Police Department (SSFPD) of the arrest of one of our teachers.
We are both dismayed and saddened by this news.
As released in a statement to our Westborough Middle School community on April 27, 2018, we were made aware of allegations that one of our teachers may have engaged in inappropriate conduct with students. Any allegation against an employee is taken very seriously and handled carefully. As soon as the site was made aware, they involved the District Office and the South San Francisco Police Department, and we have been in touch with the parents of the students who were involved.
Prior to criminal charges being filed, SSFUSD placed the individual in question on administrative leave while the matter was being investigated. The teacher remains on administrative leave and will no longer be on any of our campuses pending the outcome of this case. District and school leaders are cooperating closely with SSFPD officers as they continue their criminal investigation.
Our students and staff will receive our full support as we continue to ensure a safe learning environment for our school community. In order to ensure that student learning is not disrupted, we have assigned a qualified, long-term substitute teacher to the classroom.
While I understand that our community will have questions about this case, it is important to understand that we have a strict legal obligation to ensure that due process and privacy rights are upheld; therefore, we cannot provide any details or further explanation at this time.
Should you have questions or additional information as it relates to this case, please contact the South San Francisco Police Department at 650-877-8900. SSFPD Press Release
Sincerely,
Shawnterra Moore, Ed.D.
Superintendent