Retired teacher suspected of rape
SUNNYVALE >> A retired Sunnyvale school teacher has been arrested on suspicion of raping a student in 2009, authorities said.
Last Monday, 61-year-old Anthony James Phillip was arrested and booked into the Santa Clara County Main Jail on suspicion of aggravated sexual assault of a child, forcible penetration with a foreign object and forcible penetration with a foreign object upon a child, the Sunnyvale Department of Public Safety said in a statement Tuesday.
At the time of the alleged rape, Phillip was a teacher at Cupertino Middle School in Sunnyvale and the victim was a student at the same school, authorities said.
Phillip retired three years ago, but he is currently a volunteer softball and basketball coach at Fremont High School in Sunnyvale.
The victim reported the alleged rape to the Sunnyvale Department of Public Safety earlier this month.
“This victim — even though this happened in 2009 — was able to provide extremely descriptive detail as well as the chronology of events,” Capt. Craig Anderson said at a news conference.
Anderson said Phillip made a “deliberate effort” to establish a relationship with the victim and ultimately directed her into a classroom closet, where he undressed and raped her.
Phillip spoke with an investigator prior to his arrest and “admitted to having sex with this victim and admitted to many of the details the victim had shared with us ...,” Anderson said.
Anderson said authorities are concerned there may be other victims.
“Generally speaking, many suspects that are committing crimes against children like this, especially sexual crimes, they have other victims out there,” he said. “That's just based upon our experience. But there were some very deliberate and almost brazen actions by the suspect at the time when this crime occurred that leads us to believe that this may not have been the first time — or even the last time — that he committed such an act.”
Authorities are asking anyone with information related to the case or who believes they may have also been a victim to contact Detective Mary Cayori at 408730-7100.