Police in Walnut Creek said they have arrested an adult employee of the Contra Costa School of Performing Arts on an allegation he raped a minor student.
In a post to the department Facebook page, police said they had arrested and subsequently charged 43-year-old Gerard Flaherty of Pleasant Hill with the crime. The former school administrator has since pleaded not guilty to allegations he forcibly raped a student older than 14.
Police said they arrested Flaherty at approximately 10:15 a.m. on April 30.
Charges against Flaherty include:
Felony Charges Filed Against Suspect
Count 1: PC 261(a)(2)- Rape of a child over 14 years old
Count 2: PC 220 (a)(2)- Assault with intent to commit a felony- Victim under 18 years old
Count 3: PC 261.5(c)- Unlawful Sexual Intercourse
Flaherty continues to be held at Martinez Detention Facility with no bail.
According to the police release, the case remains open and under investigation.
In a related development, the Contra costa School of Performing Arts announced they were closing at the end of the 24-25 school year due to facility costs and declining enrollment.
24/680 your measured response regarding disclosing arrested individual’s identity is noted and supported by yours truly.
Thanks, Jeff. Still a bit early in the process.
Or, use the old Dragnet method…………………..”the names have been changed to protect the innocent”. So, Bill Clinton was led away……………………..Bwahahahahaha.
Firestone 11R
It’s a big jacket to hang on someone. Looking to give it some more time…
If you can’t do the time, don’t do the crime…………keep your eye on the sparrow.
West Hollywood 91R
I absolutely agree with not going public per identifying the alleged until there is some clarification.
What good does it do to withold the name of the suspect while all the other local sites already published it? Maybe you so called journalists should come up with a code of ethics and try to follow it?
We do have a code of ethics.
We don’t do what everyone else does.
We review our decisions and stand by them.
We can take criticism from those who don’t know us.
We have reasons we do what we do…
… and, we find it odd no one has asked us what they might be.
Signed – The So-Called Journalists
The 43-year old married with a child, Gerald Flaherty allegedly brought girls to his home, ordered DoorDash for the students to be delivered to the school, lent them money, drove students home was extremely friendly to students and probably more incidents that I’m not aware of. I’m sorry to hear that his sister is currently on the faculty and probably helped get him the job at CocoSpa. I hope he gets the book thrown at him because many of the students at CocoSpa believe he will just be let go. I hope the judicial system will prove to these middle school students otherwise.
damnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn I am a student at this school. Me and gerard used to be very close and I never knew he would do something this horrendus. I thought he was a good guy you know, but yes the buying kids doordash taking kids home having kids at his house and sending them money is true. I have not seen his sister around campus recently..
I respect your right to withhold the name, but I strongly disagree. I’ve read his name elsewhere, so it doesn’t really matter. What DOES matter is this was sexual assault, and sex offenders should ROT IN HELL! The charge is serious enough to be held WITHOUT BAIL.
A lot of people obviously have strong feelings about the topic. We get it. We’ve done this for a while. But aside from murder and certain other crimes no allegation has more potential for harming one’s name than child molestation. This case is in the early stages and we have seen charges rolled back/withdrawn before. We wanted to wait before pinning an allegation on someone who might have to carry the weight of the allegation with them for the rest of their life. And, all due respect, we don’t base our decisions on what other outlets do.
And no other crime (including murder) has more potential for DESTROYING SOMEONES LIFE THAN CHILD MOLESTATION! My guess is you don’t have children, especially a daughter.
I’ve read the comments on WCPD Facebook and one woman said her ex-husband worked at this school and reported this man to the principal several times, and the principal did NOTHING!
I’m sick to death of these sickos!
Since his name is already out there (every media organization is printing it) please understand that your decision to withhold his name doesn’t matter to his reputation.
These charges won’t be “rolled back.”
I get it and respect the decision. There’s a lot of emotion surrounding these cases. As we can see.
The villagers are out with their pitchforks again. No charges filed yet.
The guy arrested might not be the only one in trouble. NBC Bay Area reports that rumors of an “inappropriate relationship” were reported to at least one school administrator months ago, who flat-out denied it. If that’s true, and if there was enough information was reported to the administrator to trigger her legal duties to report suspected child abuse but she failed to do so, then she’s done. There’s a former principal for a school about 20 miles away from Walnut Creek facing an impending trial for failure to report right now, for allegedly ignoring similar rumors a year or two ago.
Mandated reporter laws may apply, we shall see.
You guys are wise to wait and get all the info. If the name is published in many different places then those complaining have got plenty of chances to get to get it. I have no love for child molesters as they are supreme manipulators who play the victims, the sustem. the cops, social workers etc. But kudos for you guys for not letting this site dlovolve into claycord.
Thank you, Loren…