A 54-year-old former teacher from Goleta has been charged with felony counts of lewd or lascivious acts against two minors and 70 misdemeanor counts of unlawful electronic peeping of 44 minors.
Steven Schapansky, a former Santa Barbara Charter School teacher, was arrested in July after being accused of secretly recording minors at various locations where children would change their clothing, including locations at Santa Barbara Charter School.
During the investigation, sheriff’s detectives identified Schapansky as a suspect in a child molestation case and arrested him on Friday. He was booked into the Northern Branch Jail but posted bail on Sunday, according to Raquel Zick of the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office.
Schapansky began teaching at Santa Barbara Charter School in 2017. He taught math, language arts, social studies and science and other subjects to fifth and sixth grade students. His contract with the school ended on June 7.
“Our hearts are with our entire Santa Barbara and Goleta community as we navigate this unimaginable situation,” said Laura Donner, the charter school’s director of education.
“SBCS is fully cooperating with law enforcement and strongly encourages any SBCS community member with material information to report such information to law enforcement immediately,” Donner said Monday. “This is an ongoing criminal investigation, and there are privacy interests for those involved.”
The Santa Barbara County District Attorney’s Office filed criminal charges against Schapansky on Friday.
The first count alleges that Schapansky committed lewd or lascivious acts upon a female child under the age of 14, identified as Jane Doe 2, while she was sleeping. This incident happened on or between Jan. 1, 2018, and Dec. 24, 2019, according to the felony complaint.
Jane Doe 2 is also a victim in five counts of unlawful electronic peeping, ranging from March 26, 2019, to May 9, 2022.
The complaint does not indicate where the molestation took place or how Schapansky is connected to the victim. The victim reported the offense on July 17 this year, which was shortly after he was arrested, according to the felony complaint.
The second count alleges that Schapansky committed lewd or lascivious acts on another female victim under the age of 14, who is identified as Jane Doe 27, on or between April 1 and April 30, 2023.
The District Attorney’s Office is also charging special allegations that the victims were “particularly vulnerable,” that the manner in which the crime was carried out indicates sophistication and planning, and that “the defendant took advantage of a position of trust or confidence to commit the offense.”
Secret Recording Allegations
The 70 counts of unlawful electronic peeping have incidents ranging from July 30, 2017, to June 1, 2023.
The felony complaint alleges that Schapansky “willfully and unlawfully” used a concealed video device to record the victims in states of full or partial undress without their consent in a bedroom, bathroom, changing room, fitting room, dressing room, tanning booth or “the interior of any other area in that that other person has a reasonable expectation of privacy.”
The complaint alleges that the recordings were discovered on July 12 and that none of the victims or any law enforcement agency had any knowledge of the recordings until then.
There are 44 unique victims, including Jane Doe 2, identified in the counts of unlawful electronic peeping. Several victims were secretly recorded multiple times over various periods of time, according to the criminal case allegations.
Five of the counts of electronic peeping have unknown minors as the victims, according to the felony complaint.
In August, attorneys filed a legal claim for personal injuries and damages against Schapansky, Santa Barbara Charter School and the Santa Barbara Unified School District, on behalf of a 13-year-old confirmed victim who attended the charter school from 2016 to 2023.
The claim alleged that the district and the charter school were liable for Schapansky’s misconduct, claiming they “negligently supervised” students, failed to protect students and failed to enforce guidelines, training and procedures.
Santa Barbara Charter School operates independently from the Santa Barbara Unified School District and is located at 6100 Stow Canyon Road.
The charter school has its own board of directors, administration and teachers, and it’s responsible for school operations.
Sheriff’s detectives Brett White and Gregory Plett are leading the investigation, according to the District Attorney’s Office.
Schapansky is scheduled to appear in Santa Barbara County Superior Court on Friday morning for an arraignment hearing.
The District Attorney’s Victim-Witness Assistance Program can be reached at 805.568.2400 or toll free at 855.840.3232.
