Teacher in Sex Case Placed on Leave
DANA HILLS — A Dana Hills High School teacher charged with sexually assaulting a 17-year-old female student during a field trip was placed Monday on a compulsory leave without pay, a district spokeswoman said.
The Capistrano Unified School District Board of Trustees, meeting in a closed-door session Monday night, placed Michael W. Gaskins on mandatory leave pending the outcome of his criminal case, which was filed in Inyo Superior Court on Nov. 16, district spokeswoman Jacqueline Cerra said.
Gaskins, 43, had been on administrative leave with pay since Oct. 25, when school district officials were first notified that he was the target of an investigation by the Inyo County district attorney’s office.
The investigation stemmed from an Oct. 21 school-sponsored science field trip at Serales Lake in Last Chance Canyon in Inyo County. A 17-year-old female student alleges that she was sexually assaulted by Gaskins during the trip.
Gaskins has been charged with one felony count of sexual battery and one misdemeanor count of annoying a child under 18, according to a criminal complaint.
Gaskins has been a teacher with Capistrano School District for 17 years, Cerra said.
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