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by Sue Dremann / Palo Alto Weekly
Uploaded: Fri, Apr 7, 2023, 4:02 pm 3
Updated: Sat, Apr 8, 2023, 9:53 pm
Time to read: about 2 minutes
Santa Clara County Hall of Justice. Embarcadero Media file photo by Magali Gauthier.
A physical education teacher whom Palo Alto Unified put on leave after he was accused of sexually assaulting a student pleaded not guilty on Monday, April 3, in Santa Clara County Superior Court.
Peter Michael Colombo, 55, of Redwood City, is charged with one count of aggravated sexual assault (rape) of a minor by force or fear, which is related to an alleged incident at the former Jordan Middle School (now named Greene Middle School) in 2001.
Palo Alto Unified School District administrators reported the alleged assault to police in late January 2022 after receiving an email from the victim’s husband. He alleged that Colombo sexually assaulted his wife, who was now in her 30s, when she was 11 years old and a sixth grade student. The assault allegedly took place in a school locker room.
The sexual assault charge was originally filed against Colombo on June 16, 2022. Monday’s arraignment followed a March 21 preliminary hearing during which the student, who was identified as a Jane Doe, and Palo Alto Detective Yolanda Franco-Clausen testified. The court also considered a submitted 44-page transcript.
Colombo taught and coached elsewhere within the school district, including at Palo Alto High School, for 24 years. His earlier teaching history includes Kennedy Middle School in the Redwood City School District and Junipero Serra High School in San Mateo, according to his LinkedIn profile.
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A Palo Alto Weekly investigation uncovered multiple complaints regarding inappropriate or offensive comments made by Colombo to students and criminal convictions during a 30-year period. The convictions included trespassing on a woman’s property, DUI and vandalism. He falsified a 1995 substitute teaching credential application by omitting his criminal history.
Prosecutors on March 9 subpoenaed documents from Palo Alto Unified regarding any complaints, investigations, discipline and evaluations of Colombo that were in the school district’s files. Court documents aren’t clear if these records were part of the judge’s consideration during the arraignment.
Colombo, who sat quietly in the court’s gallery during his arraignment, stood before the judge and answered “not guilty.” He remains free on a $250,000 bail bond. His next court appearance is scheduled for June 26 at the Hall of Justice in San Jose.
Editor’s note: A previous version of this story erroneously stated that Colombo was a former teacher. He is on unpaid leave.
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by Sue Dremann / Palo Alto Weekly
Uploaded: Fri, Apr 7, 2023, 4:02 pm
Updated: Sat, Apr 8, 2023, 9:53 pm
A physical education teacher whom Palo Alto Unified put on leave after he was accused of sexually assaulting a student pleaded not guilty on Monday, April 3, in Santa Clara County Superior Court.
Peter Michael Colombo, 55, of Redwood City, is charged with one count of aggravated sexual assault (rape) of a minor by force or fear, which is related to an alleged incident at the former Jordan Middle School (now named Greene Middle School) in 2001.
Palo Alto Unified School District administrators reported the alleged assault to police in late January 2022 after receiving an email from the victim’s husband. He alleged that Colombo sexually assaulted his wife, who was now in her 30s, when she was 11 years old and a sixth grade student. The assault allegedly took place in a school locker room.
The sexual assault charge was originally filed against Colombo on June 16, 2022. Monday’s arraignment followed a March 21 preliminary hearing during which the student, who was identified as a Jane Doe, and Palo Alto Detective Yolanda Franco-Clausen testified. The court also considered a submitted 44-page transcript.
Colombo taught and coached elsewhere within the school district, including at Palo Alto High School, for 24 years. His earlier teaching history includes Kennedy Middle School in the Redwood City School District and Junipero Serra High School in San Mateo, according to his LinkedIn profile.
A Palo Alto Weekly investigation uncovered multiple complaints regarding inappropriate or offensive comments made by Colombo to students and criminal convictions during a 30-year period. The convictions included trespassing on a woman’s property, DUI and vandalism. He falsified a 1995 substitute teaching credential application by omitting his criminal history.
Prosecutors on March 9 subpoenaed documents from Palo Alto Unified regarding any complaints, investigations, discipline and evaluations of Colombo that were in the school district’s files. Court documents aren’t clear if these records were part of the judge’s consideration during the arraignment.
Colombo, who sat quietly in the court’s gallery during his arraignment, stood before the judge and answered “not guilty.” He remains free on a $250,000 bail bond. His next court appearance is scheduled for June 26 at the Hall of Justice in San Jose.
Editor’s note: A previous version of this story erroneously stated that Colombo was a former teacher. He is on unpaid leave.
A physical education teacher whom Palo Alto Unified put on leave after he was accused of sexually assaulting a student pleaded not guilty on Monday, April 3, in Santa Clara County Superior Court.
Peter Michael Colombo, 55, of Redwood City, is charged with one count of aggravated sexual assault (rape) of a minor by force or fear, which is related to an alleged incident at the former Jordan Middle School (now named Greene Middle School) in 2001.
Palo Alto Unified School District administrators reported the alleged assault to police in late January 2022 after receiving an email from the victim’s husband. He alleged that Colombo sexually assaulted his wife, who was now in her 30s, when she was 11 years old and a sixth grade student. The assault allegedly took place in a school locker room.
The sexual assault charge was originally filed against Colombo on June 16, 2022. Monday’s arraignment followed a March 21 preliminary hearing during which the student, who was identified as a Jane Doe, and Palo Alto Detective Yolanda Franco-Clausen testified. The court also considered a submitted 44-page transcript.
Colombo taught and coached elsewhere within the school district, including at Palo Alto High School, for 24 years. His earlier teaching history includes Kennedy Middle School in the Redwood City School District and Junipero Serra High School in San Mateo, according to his LinkedIn profile.
A Palo Alto Weekly investigation uncovered multiple complaints regarding inappropriate or offensive comments made by Colombo to students and criminal convictions during a 30-year period. The convictions included trespassing on a woman’s property, DUI and vandalism. He falsified a 1995 substitute teaching credential application by omitting his criminal history.
Prosecutors on March 9 subpoenaed documents from Palo Alto Unified regarding any complaints, investigations, discipline and evaluations of Colombo that were in the school district’s files. Court documents aren’t clear if these records were part of the judge’s consideration during the arraignment.
Colombo, who sat quietly in the court’s gallery during his arraignment, stood before the judge and answered “not guilty.” He remains free on a $250,000 bail bond. His next court appearance is scheduled for June 26 at the Hall of Justice in San Jose.
Editor’s note: A previous version of this story erroneously stated that Colombo was a former teacher. He is on unpaid leave.
Anybody remember this? Web Link Someone should file a new complaint with OCR referencing the District’s failure to abide by the terms of the resolution, which were written specially for Palo Alto, which appear to be completely ignored by the District.
The harassment and discrimination laws are the same everywhere in the United States. OCR had to point it out to this city, Palo Alto, where they like to write their own rules and conduct “investigations” in their own way, so as to evade OCR’s mandate. There will be more fallout over this because apparently PAUSD didn’t implement or tell anyone that the OCR’s mandate is in force forever. Just because they stopped monitoring it doesn’t mean the laws were struck down.
This is a horrible accusation, and I hope that if Mr. Colombo is indeed innocent, he will prevail in proving it in court. This is also an unthinkable, horrible offense against an 11-year old, as well as a gross betrayal of trust, in the case of a Teacher, if the accusation is true. I wish all the parties involved to Keep The Faith as they endure the agonies of this trial, and may the Innocent Party prevail. I learned a long time ago that we have a Legal System in this country, rather than a Justice System, and I feel for anyone going through a Court Trial. Best of Luck to the innocent party in this case!
Wow NanaDi. Not all judges are fair, despite our legal and justice system. People like Brock Turner are still roaming the streets, having moved back to wherever he came from so he could live in anonymity. Since the City and PAUSD have ignored OCR’s mandates, it looks like there will be another coverup and the accused will move on to another school with a lower profile. Hope none of your grandkids end up in his class.
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