School official's abuse trial to start April 8

A judge on Tuesday rescheduled a trial to start April 8 for a former rural school district administrator accused of sexually abusing two children.

Thomas Kevin Hart, 60, has been charged with two counts of the continuous sexual abuse of a child younger than 14.

Hart was the Valley Home Joint School District superintendent and principal when he was arrested July 6. The Valley Home school board placed Hart, who also is known as Kevin Hart, on unpaid compulsory leave in August.

The alleged victims in this case are children who did not attend Valley Home schools.

The school board has since hired a new superintendent-principal.

The criminal complaint alleges that the abuse took place from Aug. 1, 2009, to June 17, 2011.

Testimony in Hart's preliminary hearing on Tuesday indicated that the acts are claimed to have occurred at Hart's Oakdale home as he was bathing the children, a girl and a boy, in a laundry room sink.

In the February preliminary hearing, Hart's defense attorney argued that his client was just cleaning fecal matter from the children's bodies and that there was no evidence of sexual intent.

The trial is estimated to last about two weeks. Stanislaus County Superior Court Judge Thomas Zeff scheduled Hart to return to court March 29 for another pretrial hearing.

Bee staff writer Rosalio Ahumada can be reached at rahumada@modbee.com or (209) 578-2394.