Modesto man, a teacher in Tracy, suspected of sex crimes against students in both cities
A Modesto man who teaches at a high school in Tracy was arrested in connection with alleged sex crimes against multiple students across two high schools, including Grace M. Davis High in Modesto, police said in a news release issued Wednesday.
Tracy police were alerted April 25 to an inappropriate relationship between a student and teacher at West High School, according to the release. The school’s resource officer began investigating, along with a detective specializing in crimes against children.
After the initial investigation, police arrested 30-year-old Jordan Musa Dajani. He was booked into the Stanislaus County jail on suspicion of sodomy with a person under 18 and oral copulation with a person under 18.
The news release of Dajani’s arrest was dated Tuesday. On Thursday morning, he did not appear on the Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Office’s in-custody report, and his case did not yet show up in the Stanislaus County Superior Court online index.
Police said the preliminary charges are related to two students who were allegedly victimized when Dajani taught at West High School and Davis High in Modesto.
Dajani taught at Davis from 2015 to 2017 before starting work at West that same year, according to the Tracy PD release, but a Modesto City Schools official said the district’s human resources records show he was employed the 2016-17 school year.
The Tracy Unified School District immediately placed Dajani on administrative leave after police alerted district officials about the investigation, police said.
Police believe Dajani was sexually involved with a third student, but no charges were filed because the student was an adult when the alleged incidents occurred.
Modesto City Schools Associate Superintendent Mike Henderson provided this statement to The Modesto Bee on Wednesday night: “Jordan Musa Dajani was employed as a substitute teacher with Modesto City Schools during the 2016-2017 school year. Our records reflect that he satisfactorily completed background checks, including the Department of Justice fingerprint requirements. District records indicate Dajani was seeking qualifications to be eligible to apply for teaching positions but did not complete requirements while pursuing full time employment with Modesto City Schools.
“Student safety is a priority. To this end, Modesto City Schools is prepared to cooperate with law enforcement’s investigation.”
Tracy police said this is an ongoing investigation in collaboration with the Modesto Police Department.
Anyone with information is encouraged to contact Tracy police Detective Brian Azevedo at Brian.Azevedo@tracypd.com or 209-831-6334. For incidents in Modesto, contact the Police Department at 209-552-2470.
This story was originally published May 4, 2022 at 7:23 PM.
