Teacher charged with nine felonies
High school biology instructor accused earlier this month
A Palo Alto High School biology teacher was charged Tuesday with nine felony counts in the assault of one of his freshman students earlier this month.
Ronnie Farrell, 46, faces six counts of lewd and lascivious acts on a minor and three counts of sexual battery arising from two separate assaults on the victim, according to Santa Clara County prosecutor Steven Dal Porto.
Police received a call on June 13 from a parent reporting that their 15-yearold daughter was assaulted by a teacher.
The teacher is accused of using private social media messaging to ask the girl to meet him at school at 9 a.m. June 7, after the end of the school year. The student told police she agreed because she had helped other teachers with classroom tasks in the past.
In the classroom, the teacher allegedly put his hands under the student’s clothes and touched her breasts. He also allegedly placed her hands on his groin over his clothing.
“The suspect continued corresponding with the victim via social media, and arranged to meet her at Palo Alto High School on the evening of Wednesday, June 15,” police said in a news release. “Detectives were there to meet him instead and took him into custody without incident.”
One of the lewd and lascivious counts stems from an incident at the school on June 3, Dal Porto said by phone on Tuesday.
“He had grabbed her arms and pulled her to him and hugged her for a prolonged period of time,” Dal Porto said. “And given what we know happened later, that’s why that has been charged as a lewd and lascivious act as well.”
Palo Alto police arrested Farrell on suspicion of child molestation, sexual battery, communicating with a minor with the intent to commit a sex crime and arranging a meeting with a minor with the intent to commit a sex crime.
Farrell was booked June 15 into the Santa Clara County Main Jail and released on bail that same evening. A judge set bail at $250,000.
Farrell is scheduled to be arraigned Aug. 15.
The school district has placed Farrell on unpaid administrative leave. He has taught at Paly since 2012.
Principal Kim Diorio said in a letter to students and parents that she is “at a loss for words except to say how incredibly saddened I am.”
Diorio encouraged students and parents to seek counseling if needed.
“I understand Mr. Farrell is well-liked and respected, which I suspect will make this news even more surprising and difficult to understand,” she wrote.
In November, Kevin Sharp, another teacher at the school, was accused of sexually harassing and later engaging in a consensual sexual relationship with an 18-year-old former student. He was placed on paid personal leave in the fall semester and resigned from the district with a $150,000 settlement. Sharp did not face charges.
Anyone with information about the incident is asked to call the city’s 24-hour dispatch center at 650-3292413.