San Jose

Ex-Morgan Hill Elementary Teacher Sentenced to 40 Years in Molest Case

A former Morgan Hill teacher was sentenced Monday to 40 years in prison after he plead guilty to molesting fifth-grade girls.

John Loyd, 53, admitted to molesting four girls, mostly in 2012 and 2015. He had been a fifth-grade teacher at Paradise Valley Elementary School, until he was arrested in October 2014.

"This is a man who has classic pedophile profile," Deputy District Attorney Tim McInerny said.

Prosecutors said Loyd often lured the girls with candy or selected them to work alone with him on a school newspaper. The former educator also covered the windows of his classroom with paper so no one could see in, according to prosecutors.

During sentencing, a letter from one of the victim's mother was read in court. "I hope you rot in hell," the letter stated.

A letter from one of the victims was also shared in court. It read, in part, "What you did to me and the three other girls was not OK at all. I hope you know how much this hurt me."

Another letter from a victim read: "Thank you for pleading guilty. Thank you for making me stronger."

Hours after the sentencing, an attorney representing three of the victims said he is pursuing a lawsuit against the Morgan Hill Unified School District and possibly the three principals involved. Families believe the district did not do enough to stop Loyd from molesting his students, according to the attorney.

"These molestations occurred despite presentations of red flags and multiple sex-based complaints to three separate principals that the elementary school largely ignored," attorney Robert Allard said.

Allard said more needs to be done to educate administrators about red flags.

An investigator working for the families found a year after Loyd's arrest, the windows in Room 9 were still blacked out.

An attorney representing the Morgan Hill Unified School District issued the following response to the lawsuit announcement: "There is no indication that anyone knew before Mr. Loyd was arrested that he had engaged in abusive conduct toward any of the girls involved."

Allard said his team is working to pursue new legislation that will mandate sex-abuse prevention training for educators.

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