Former Sacramento teacher given three years in prison for propositioning 12-year-old

A former Sacramento after-school teacher was sentenced to three years in prison on Thursday for sending sexually explicit messages to a 12-year-old student, according to the Yolo County District Attorney’s Office.

Taylor Lewis Gholar, a 29-year-old man who was employed by the Sacramento Unified School District in 2016 as a teacher through an after-school program at John Still Elementary, was arrested by West Sacramento police in January after sending an explicit photo of himself to the girl and attempting to meet her for sex.

Gholar had been her after-school teacher when she was in second grade and continued to teach her for the next three years. After fifth grade, he made no contact with her until she was in seventh grade.

Witnesses who testified during Gholar’s trial said he reached out to her through Instagram direct messages on Jan. 19. She told him that she was 12 years old, but he continued to message her for the next 12 hours, asking if she wanted to have sex and asked for pictures of her. He sent a sexually explicit photo of himself to the girl, and her parents stepped in.

The parents posed as the 12-year-old girl in messages to Gholar. West Sacramento police officers arranged a meet-up on Jan. 20, ostensibly for sex, where Gholar was arrested. He was found with condoms.

Gholar was convicted on two different charges relating to sexual offenses against underage persons in October after an eight-day trial.

“Mr. Gholar used his position of trust as a teacher to convince a 12-year-old to have sex with him,” Yolo County District Attorney Jeff Reisig said at the time of his conviction.

Gholar will have to register as a sex offender for life in addition to serving his three years in state prison.

“The court’s sentence reflects the seriousness of the crime and the trust the community places in its teachers. This sentence not only provides justice for the victim but should serve as a deterrent to others in the community from engaging in similar conduct,” Reisig said in a Friday statement.