Jessie Llorente III, 39, will start his probation after he has served his remaining 94 days at San Joaquin County Jail in French Camp. Prosecutor Elton Grau made his case for Llorente to serve three years in a state prison, but Superior Court Judge Franklin Stephenson felt that the former sub was truly repentant and would not be a repeat offender.
Prior to the judge’s ruling, Grau pleaded with Stephenson for a more serious punishment. He said that 15 Kelly Elementary students from the age of 10 to 12 testified in a Grand Jury trial — 12 of whom said that Llorente touched their hair, earlobes and massaged their back in February in a way that made them feel “icky” and “symbols of sex objects,” as Grau put it. The prosecutor said that Llorente spoke to some girls flirtatiously, such as telling one that he liked her Russian accent.
Grau said that the incidents happened on Feb. 26 and 27, but one girl said she was touched a few months before that.
Grau added that an hour after Llorente was asked to leave school one day, he went to home to his computer and searched for images of young people, though it wasn’t clear if they were children.
“It’s really about what intent is,” Grau told Stephenson. “It’s about punishing the thought behind the touches.”
Llorente’s attorney, Deborah Fialkowski, told the judge that her client has been a substitute teacher for more than 10 years, but only has the one arrest to his record and there had been no previous record of inappropriate behavior.
“I don’t think I’d be standing here today if the teacher was a female,” Fialkowski said to Stephenson.
She said it’s not unusual for coaches and teachers to touch students without having sexual thoughts, offering up a swim coach putting his arm around a swimmer or a basketball coach patting a player on the behind as examples. Fialkowski told Stephenson that state prison time would have life-long consequences for her client and that he would obey all of the restrictions placed on him in probation.
Though Stephenson acknowledged that Llorente used poor judgment, a long-awaited psychologist’s report of Llorente said he would be unlikely to be a danger to society upon release. Llorente also wrote the court a letter admitting to touching of some of the girls he taught at Kelly Elementary, and that he was sorry for doing so.
Grau said the letter might’ve heavily weighed on the judge’s decision.
“I think what the judge did was fair,” said Grau, who noted that the case was “very close to call.”
In addition to his probation time, Llorente will have to give up his substitute teaching credential, register for life as a sex offender and stay away from children.
Grau said Llorente had taught in other schools in the Tracy Unified School District, but wasn’t exactly sure which ones. Tracy police arrested Llorente, a 1988 Tracy High School alumnus, on March 19.
Contact Tracy Press reporter Justin Lafferty at 830-4269 or jlafferty@tracypress.com.
Prior to the judge’s ruling, Grau pleaded with Stephenson for a more serious punishment. He said that 15 Kelly Elementary students from the age of 10 to 12 testified in a Grand Jury trial — 12 of whom said that Llorente touched their hair, earlobes and massaged their back in February in a way that made them feel “icky” and “symbols of sex objects,” as Grau put it."
Touching of the hair, earlobes and rubbing backs? This creep is a child molester, HE WAS AROUSED WHEN HE TOUCHED THEM and yes those girls were molested but thankfully he didn't get the opportunity to go any further. He was damn bold to do this in school. Judge Franklin Stephenson sent a loud and clear message that this type of behavior will only get you a slap on the hand and probation. What a disgrace! Thank you prosecutor Grau for attemping to send this pediphile to state prison, as he truly deserves.
There's tons of data out there bringing reality back to this type of engrained behavior; which doesn't go away, seems to get worse with age, and cannot be rehabilitated.
Time will tell...
I never ever said he was innocent. I said he is a JERK and a IDIOT. I said in my eyes he did not Molest any children at the school. I do not know what he has done in his past he may deserve these charges and time caught up to him.
How many kids playing on the play ground touch or pull kids hair. Are they all being mollesters? I knwo the intend was much differant but the fact is that was all that happened to them.
To me he may have committed a act of mollestation but these girls were not molested.
Sorry you blew up.
this slimeball did more than just "touch hair" He touched these girls in a way that you would touch your wife or girlfriend, not 10 and 11 year old girls!
I am glad that he was put away before he did something much worse. I am also glad that he will be on the radar forthe law.
Here is the statute section for California Penal Code 288(a):
Any person who willfully and lewdly commits any lewd or
lascivious act, including any of the acts constituting other crimes
provided for in Part 1, upon or with the body, or any part or member
thereof, of a child who is under the age of 14 years, with the intent
of arousing, appealing to, or gratifying the lust, passions, or
sexual desires of that person or the child, is guilty of a felony and
shall be punished by imprisonment in the state prison for three,
six, or eight years.
The guy said in interviews that it aroused him to touch their hair. It may not be to your liking that the word molest was used to describe his behavior but it does fit the definition unless you would like to say that he lewdly touched students.
1) He should not have been teaching anyones kids. I have a daughter that he subbed for at West High and she said he was a creepy guy also.
2) The school should have noticed that he was not competent.
That being said this guy did not Molest any kid at Kelly school. He touched hair. That is inappropriate. Thats it. He should have been fired and sent home. If this was your child would you really tell others that she was MOLESTED? Why are they tagging these kids this way? I can not imagine the long term damage that this may cause. HE TOUCHED HAIR.
The only reason he was arrested was because they found child pron on his computer. He is a IDIOT but he did not MOLEST any of these children.
"Prosecutor Elton Grau made his case for Llorente to serve three years in a state prison, but Superior Court Judge Franklin Stephenson felt that the former sub was truly repentant and would not be a repeat offender."
This is a synopsis of the the s**t head who killed the four Washington State Police Officer's last month:
"Clemmons has a criminal history, and spent part of a long prison sentence in Arkansas, before having his sentence commuted by then Governor Mike Huckabee."
What this article doesn't tell you is that Clemmons was serving a 95 year prison sentence at the time his sentence was commuted for the rape, lewd and lascivious acts (molestation) and false imprisonment of a child.
Does ANYONE besides me see an issue here? No one and mean, NO ONE plea's "no contest" or nolo contendere who is not guilty in some way of dirt.
Where's the "Justice" for the "Just Us" who have to worry about this guys around our kids now?