Article Launched: 07/20/2005 08:15:12 AM Dixon teacher pleads innocent to felony charges By David Hensen/Staff Writer A Dixon elementary school teacher, arrested in late June on suspicion of lewd and lascivious acts with girls under the age of 14, has pleaded innocent in Solano County Superior Court. Elijah James Hall, 36, a sixth-grade teacher at Tremont Elementary School, pleaded innocent last week to felony charges and is free on $47,000 bail. His arrest had culminated an investigation spanning several months, Dixon Police Chief Don Mort said. The investigation uncovered two apparent incidents with girls, the first in mid- to late-November 1999, in which it is unclear whether Hall had met the girl through school. The girl in the second incident is believed to be a family friend and not one of Hall's students, Mort said. A readiness conference to set a preliminary hearing in the case is scheduled for 8:30 a.m. Sept. 7 in Judge R. Michael Smith's courtroom. In response to the charges, Dixon Unified School District trustees held a special meeting Monday night to handle the issue, as required by state law. The board voted unanimously to put Hall on unpaid administrative leave pending the case's resolution, said Dixon Superintendent Wally Holbrook. Meantime, Holbrook said the district will have to find a qualified replacement for Hall, at least for the time being. Hall has been employed at Tremont for the last six years, Board President Shana Levine said. District officials declined to comment about Hall's time as a Dixon teacher or about how his arrest has affected colleagues, citing privacy issues. "This is a police matter and we will follow through and participate when requested or required," Holbrook said. "We will cooperate with the authorities in any way we need to." http://www.thereporter.com/news/ci_2872911 |