Thread by @mattdrange

In late 2017, with #MeToo in full swing, I set out to see if my high school harbored any teachers who took advantage of the often blurred boundaries with students on campus.

I never expected to find my journalism teacher.

businessinsider.com/rosemead-high-…

Eric Burgess was a perennial favorite among my classmates. A Rosemead alum himself, his favorite jokes began with “your mom” and his videotaped pranks were the stuff of legend.

"He was just kind of a big kid in a teacher role," a former teacher’s aide told me.

Instead of getting him into trouble, Burgess’ antics often resulted in slaps on the wrist, cementing his status as a “Golden Boy” on campus. As principals came and went, he excelled at gaining the trust of those who oversaw his behavior.

It’s a trust he exploited again and again

I interviewed more than 40 current and former teachers and students & reviewed hundreds of disciplinary records and internal documents to piece together the truth. My reporting shows that Burgess repeatedly groomed female students for sex over his more than two decades on campus.

Despite numerous red flags, @RosemeadPanther officials repeatedly failed to investigate disturbing stories & reports of sexual abuse. Today, they won't say whether they ever notified law enforcement of Burgess' relationships with teenage girls; no criminal charges have been filed