Castro Valley afterschool staffer charged with molesting 11-year-old; colleagues told police they were suspicious of him

CASTRO VALLEY — Even before he was arrested and charged with molesting an 11-year-old girl inside Stanton Elementary School, afterschool teacher Eduardo Lopez-Robles had already drawn the ire of colleagues, according to authorities.

Lopez-Robles, 27, was known to violate a policy enacted by his employer, an afterschool nonprofit programmer called PlayCV, that was designed to prevent the very thing Lopez-Robles now stands accused of doing. The policy forbids employees from being alone with students, yet at least three of Lopez-Robles’ colleagues said that they’d witnessed him whisking a girl away into the school’s library and empty classrooms on multiple occasions, and had even confronted him about it, according to police.

When asked, Lopez-Robles would come up with an “innocent” explanation, the colleagues reportedly told authorities in recent police interviews. But a girl known in court records only as Jane Doe told authorities that Lopez-Robles had been molesting her for months, by touching her private parts and removing her clothes, according to court records.

Asked about the allegations. PlayCV issued a statement stating that Lopez-Robles no longer works there and that the allegations, if true, are a “profound violation” of the trust that was placed in him. The statement says PlayCV is fully cooperating with police and conducted its own internal investigation.

The statement says that PlayCV didn’t learn of allegations of wrongdoing until Nov. 18, one day before police say they were notified, suggesting that anyone who had a problem with Lopez-Robles’ allegedly being alone with students didn’t notify higher-ups at the nonprofit.

“We first became aware of the allegations involving Mr. Lopez on November 18, 2024,” the statement says. “Prior to this date, we received no reports of inappropriate behavior or concerns raised by anyone, including students, staff, or families, regarding his actions.”

Now, Lopez-Robles has been charged with multiple counts of committing a lewd act on a child, and is due in court on Jan. 6 for a preliminary hearing. He is out of custody on $200,000 bail, court records show.

Police began investigating Lopez-Robles back in November, when they were contacted by two employees at Play CV, according to court records. One of the employees told police that Doe confided in her about Lopez-Robles doing “something bad” while they were alone together. Police identified the girl and sat her down for an interview, where she divulged the alleged molestation in detail, records show.

The girl told authorities that it started with over-the-clothes touching and that when she asked Lopez-Robles to stop, he would, but that he’d make her feel guilty about it later. He bought her gifts as a way of dissuading her from coming forward, according to police.

A police probable cause statement, filed in court, alleges that Lopez-Robles touched Doe’s private parts three to four times and groped her on four to five occasions over a four-month period. When confronted with the allegations, Lopez-Robles declined a police interview, authorities said.

The charges were filed on Dec. 20. Lopez-Robles was placed on administrative leave after the allegations came to light. The principal of Stanton Elementary forwarded press inquires to PlayCV, and did not immediately respond to a separate inquiry of whether — and how — parents at the school were notified.