SUSD employee arrested on decades-old molestation charges

STOCKTON -- A Stockton Unified School District employee has been arrested and charged with suspicion of several sex crimes against a child younger than 14 that occurred approximately 20 years ago when the man was not a district employee, authorities reported.

San Joaquin County sheriff's deputies arrested Frank Lee Gleason III, 40, of Stockton on July 22 after a felony arrest warrant was issued May 12. He is being held in County Jail in French Camp in lieu of $2 million bail on charges alleging three counts of lewd or lascivious acts with a child under 14 years and three counts of special allegations sex crimes, according to jail records.

In a letter sent Monday and addressed to Stockton Unified Families, the school district confirmed that a 40-year-old employee who worked as a campus security assistant was arrested on allegations of molestation involving a minor. While the district did not identify Gleason by name, the Sheriff's Office did confirm he is the employee in question.

"The minor is not a student of the district and the alleged conduct did not occur on a school site," the letter to families stated. It also noted that Gleason has not been working on a district school site for the past 10 months.

The letter went on to state that the allegations against Gleason involve conduct that may have occurred two decades ago "and are not connected to the employee's work in our district.

"We are committed to the safety and welfare of our students, and we expect all staff to adhere to the highest ethical practices, care and conduct. We will not tolerate behaviors that compromise the well-being of our children," according to the district.

In the event that children or residents have questions or concerns, the district offered support through one of its school counselors, John New, who may be contacted at jnew@stocktonusd.net or (209) 986-6452.

The Sheriff's Office is asking that anyone with information regarding its investigation of Gleason contact Detective Areola at (209) 464-4400.

Gleason was arraigned last week in San Joaquin County Superior Court and appointed a public defender to represent him. He is scheduled for further arraignment at 8:30 a.m. Thursday in Department 8B at the downtown Courthouse.

Contact reporter Joe Goldeen at (209) 546-8278 or jgoldeen@recordnet.com. Follow him on Twitter @JoeGoldeen.

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