Trial scheduled for ex-Bay Area elementary teacher accused of child molestation

"The November trial date for a former Benicia Unified school teacher accused of child molestations will go ahead, as scheduled, for now, in Solano County Superior Court, but not before a Solano County Superior Court judge considers a motion to quash information about one or more of the alleged victims. Matthew Joseph Shelton, 43, who faces 12 felony counts of lewd and lascivious acts on four children under 14, appeared Monday in Department 23 in Vallejo for a trial management conference in the Justice Building."

"Shelton remains out of custody on a pretrial services contract. He is represented by Napa-based attorney Amanda I. Bevins. Deputy District Attorney Barry Shapiro leads the prosecution. Also in court on Monday was state Deputy Attorney General Joseph Halabrin, who withdrew a motion to quash. Also appearing in court was David Gallegos, an attorney in the Solano County Counsel's Office. He is seeking to quash information about one or more minors linked to the case, court records indicate."

"Ellis eventually scheduled a new trial confirmation and a motion to quash evidence for 9 a.m. Oct. 6 in Department 15. A trial management conference for 9 a.m. Nov. 3 and a jury trial at 9 a.m. Nov. 5 remain on calendar. The latest development in the case comes after a December 2024 preliminary hearing, with Kim ruling there was enough evidence to hold Shelton for trial."

Matthew Joseph Shelton, 43, faces 12 felony counts of lewd and lascivious acts on four children under 14 tied to alleged misconduct while working in the Benicia school district in 2022. Shelton remains out of custody on a pretrial services contract and is represented by Amanda I. Bevins; the prosecution is led by Deputy District Attorney Barry Shapiro. A Solano County judge scheduled an Oct. 6 hearing on a motion to quash information about one or more alleged victims while keeping a Nov. 5 jury trial on calendar. A December 2024 preliminary hearing found sufficient evidence to hold Shelton for trial; Shelton was previously tried and acquitted on similar Napa charges.

Read at The Mercury News