Crime & Safety

Trial Starts Monday for Former School Custodian

Andre Edwards, who retired from the Belmont-Redwood Shores School District in 2011, is charged with two counts of committing lewd or lascivious acts on a child under 14.

The jury trial for former Ralston Middle School custodian Andre Edwards, 53, who is accused of inappropriately touching a female student on two separate occasions, is scheduled to begin Monday in San Mateo Superior Court.

The April 15 start date is the fourth setting of the jury trial; Criminal Presiding Judge Jonathan Karesh granted a defense motion requesting a continuance in February, and reset the date to April 15.

The former middle school custodian is charged with two counts of committing lewd or lascivious acts on a child under 14.

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According to the San Mateo County District Attorney's Office, Edwards was alone with a 13-year-old female student in his office at 7:30 a.m. on Nov. 15, 2010. Edwards allegedly "grabbed her buttock and cupped her breast with his hand," the district attorney's office reported.

The student told school officials after first period, and the police were called.

Find out what's happening in Belmontwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Edwards has denied the claims, and pleaded not guilty on April 15, 2011. He faces up to 10 years in prison if convicted, District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe said.

He retired from the Belmont-Redwood Shores School District on Feb. 28, 2011 where he had been employed since September 1987. He remains out of custody on a $50,000 bail bond.  The defense attorney is Eric Hove.

Patch will update this story as the trial progresses.

More on Belmont Patch:

  • Could CSUS Be Coming to Belmont After All?
  • School Board Takes No Action on Carson
  • Parents to Rally Around Ralston Principal
  • Belmont Burglaries Prompt Neighborhood Meeting
  • Belmont Police Weighing Best Means of Notification


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