Disappointment.

On April 21, I woke up to a text message form my sister, Tiffer.  I was in shock.  I didn't know what to say.  I definitely couldn't go back to sleep after I read the message.  And I sure as heck could't think about anything else the rest of the day.  I still can't believe it.  Such a HUGE disappointment just washed over me.

"Ummm.. Gay Shepard from Mesa View (our junior high school) and her husband were charged with sex crimes with a minor.  Yikes," she texted.

Mrs. Shepard was one of my favorite teachers in junior high.  She was my teacher for two years in a row and I just thought she was so cool.  She always dressed so stylish.  She always spoke to us like we were adults.  I even went back to visit her when I moved on to high school.  I looked up to such a hip teacher, who seemed to understand us.

So much respect for such a fantastic teacher.  Gone.  I am just appalled.  I had to be sure to post it on my Facebook so that all of my classmates were informed.  After all, who knows if any of them had an "incident" as well?  Perhaps since one kid came forward, it would encourage others to do the same.  Most of my old classmates reposted my post along with the article I put up.  I'm sure everyone knows by now.

So far, seven other kids have come forward.  It just breaks my heart.  I still can't believe it.  I just don't understand how someone's brain can actually be ok with doing something like this. It just disgusts me.  You think about how you see this kind of stuff on the news or in the media.  Someone else's teacher.  This time, it was mine.  You just never know.  :(

Teacher placed on leave after arrest

Ocean View School District superintendent says middle school teacher accused of illegal sex acts will not be in class Monday.

"A Mesa View Middle School teacher charged with having a sexual relationship with a 17-year-old boy has been placed on administrative leave, the district's superintendent said Friday.

William V. Loose of the Ocean View School District said in a prepared statement that Gay Davidson-Shepard, who was arrested Wednesday in Huntington Beach, will not return to class when school resumes Monday after spring break.

"The district has cooperated fully with the police agency involved in the criminal investigation and will continue to do so," the statement read. "In light of the criminal proceeding, however, we are not at liberty to comment further other than to advise that Ms. Davidson-Shepard has been placed on administrative leave effective immediately pending the outcome of this matter.

"You may be assured that the Ocean View School District has the safety and well-being of all of its students and staff as its first priority."

Davidson-Shepard and her husband, Daniel Alma Shepard, are both charged with multiple felony counts, including oral copulation of a minor, sodomy of a person under 18 and contributing to the delinquency of the minor, according to a release from the Orange County district attorney and Westminster Police Department.

Shepard was also charged with possession and control of child pornography. He faces a maximum sentence of five years in state prison, Davidson-Shepard a maximum of eight years and four months.

Shepard, reached at home Thursday, declined comment.

The couple each posted $150,000 bail Thursday and are out of custody, according to the Orange County district attorney. Their arraignment, originally scheduled for Friday, has been postponed to 9 a.m. May 19 at the West Justice Center in Westminster.

Shepard taught at Westminster High School at the time of the crime, according to the release. Cpl. Van Woodson of the Westminster Police Department said Shepard retired in 2009.

According to Los Angeles Times archives, Shepard once served as president of the District Educators Assn. for the Huntington Beach Union High School District, while Davidson-Shepard served as teachers association president for the Ocean View School District.

The defendants, Woodson said, were arrested without incident at their home about 1:15 p.m. Wednesday."