Former student calls California teacher ‘predator who stole my innocence, impregnated me’

A longtime California teacher stands accused of sexually abusing two former underage students, fathering a child with one.

The Anaheim Police Department (APD) says the first woman came forward Aug. 26, alleging 61-year-old teacher Steve Graves had sex with her beginning in 1986, when she was a 16-year-old student at Loara High School in Anaheim.

The APD’s subsequent investigation uncovered a second victim, Reiko Wright, who was also 16 at the time. Wright says Graves had sex with her at 16, leaving her pregnant at 17 and scarred for life.

“My predator has a name, Steve Graves,” she wrote in a post on Instagram. “Former drum instructor at Loara High School, former band director at Ball Jr High School & current band leader at Lexington Jr High school.

“For 37 years, I lived in the shadows of silence cast by the towering façade of a respected teacher, a pious Christian, a pillar of his community. While you saw him as a beacon of guidance and faith, I knew him as the predator who stole my innocence, impregnated me as a teenager and left scars that run deeper than time.” 

Graves’ current employer, the Anaheim Union High School District (AUHSD) says a paternity test has confirmed he is the father. 

Wright goes on to describe the classic grooming behaviors he allegedly used to lure her and at least one other victim. 

“His charm, his charisma, his ‘nice guy’ vibe, these were the weapons he used to weave himself into the fabric of my life. He was the teacher who lingered at your child’s desk too long, the church leader who offered whispered condolences cloaked in concern, the neighbor who stopped for a friendly chat on your doorstep.  

“He was the wolf in sheep’s clothing, and the sheep it seems were all too eager to trust the wolf.” 

APD says it’s continuing to investigate, while the Orange County District Attorney’s Office says criminal charges are unlikely due to the statute of limitations. 

AUHSD said in a statement to Fox News it was “shocked, saddened, and upset” when it found out about the “credible allegations.” 

“Once the District became aware of this situation at the end of August, Graves was placed on administrative leave and removed from campus,” the statement said. “AUHSD has been fully cooperating with the Anaheim Police Department as they investigate this incident to identify any other possible instances of inappropriate behavior, harassment, or sexual misconduct by Graves.” 

The two victims are being represented by the law firm Manly, Stewart & Finaldi and reportedly plan to file a lawsuit. 

An attorney for the firm, Morgan Stewart, told local Fox affiliate FOX 11 he has evidence, as yet undisclosed, that Graves’ employers “knew that he was a predator and yet kept him on and kept him on for the past 30+ years.” 

Although Wright says the ordeal left her a “scared, unwed, pregnant teen who was cut off from her community of friends and support” and who was forced to transfer high schools after becoming pregnant at 17, she’s found a sense of closure since she came forward with her story – and hopes others do also. 

“The relief I feel at not having to carry [Graves’] shame or his secret any farther, or those adults who saw, knew, and did nothing … is a little dizzying.”