Out of fear, former Modesto principal didn’t disclose felony charges to district
Brian Chubon, the former Modesto principal convicted of felony statutory rape of a minor in Merced County, wrote in a letter to Modesto City Schools that he was afraid to inform the district about his charges. He said he wanted to avoid embarrassment for himself, his family and the district by keeping the matter out of the public.
The letter, obtained by The Modesto Bee, was sent to the district on Jan. 9 — 13 months after Chubon was criminally charged and five days before he was convicted. This is when MCS states it first learned about his indictment.
Chubon asked the district to grant him a leave of absence until his case was finalized and to inform stakeholders that it was due to “personal mental health issues.” Then, he said, he would surrender his teaching credentials and officially resign.
“While I recognize that this is not a guarantee that my case will not be publicized in the press, it is the only thing I can think of that may allow me to walk away without further embarrassment to the district, my wife, and myself,” Chubon wrote.
Chubon, 53, was vice principal at Gustine High School when he engaged in sexual acts with a 17-year-old student in spring 2022. An investigation into their relationship was conducted by Gustine Unified School District at the time, but both denied anything inappropriate was happening between them.
GUSD never contacted child protective services or law enforcement. Chubon continued to chaperone at school events, including prom and a senior trip, where more sexual misconduct with the minor allegedly occurred.
Chubon was hired as vice principal of Mark Twain Junior High School in Modesto in July 2022. According to his application, he left GUSD because he “found a position closer to home,” since he lives in Oakdale and the drive was becoming “a little too much.”
The former student came forward in February 2024, leading to an investigation by the Gustine Police Department. In January 2026, she filed a lawsuit against the district, Chubon and the Merced County Office of Education over the district’s failure to stop the misconduct and report it.
What does the letter say?
In the letter, Chubon maintains his innocence but admits he put himself “into a position where such allegations could be made,” by becoming “extremely close” to the student emotionally.
He admits that in June 2022, he wrote the student a letter, telling her he felt happy when he was with her, he was excited to be a part of her future and he loved her.
His lawyer advised him that the letter, along with the student’s allegations, would likely be more than enough to convict him on both felony charges if he took the case to trial. At the time, he was charged with both “oral copulation of a person under 18” and “unlawful sexual intercourse.”
That would risk jail time and require him to register as a sex offender.
“Even though I am innocent of the allegations for which I am being accused, I am petrified to put my fate in the hands of 12 people that will in all likelihood look at the letter, my age, my position, and her false accusations and convict me of a crime I did not commit,” Chubon’s letter reads.
Chubon ended up pleading no contest to the charges and accepting the Merced County District Attorney Office’s deal for a nonregisterable felony with no jail time and two years probation.
After completing probation, Chubon wrote, he plans to file a motion to reduce his charge to a misdemeanor and expunge it from his record. However, a felony conviction still costs him his teaching credential.
“I should have notified the district at that time, however I was scared of the unknown,” Chubon wrote. “I admit that I was wrong not to notify the district sooner, however I wasn’t sure if I would lose my job and I was scared that the allegations may find their way into the press.”
Promotion amid court proceedings
Chubon wrote that he was notified he would be arraigned based on the student’s “false accusations” in December 2024. Court documents show the Merced County District Attorney’s Office notified Chubon and filed charges against him on Nov. 22, 2024.
The day before, Chubon had submitted his application to be a principal at MCS — the same day the K-6 principal recruitment pool vacancy opened up at the district. At the time, he was serving as assistant principal at Mark Twain Junior High.
“My philosophy when it comes to discipline is to form a relationship with students in order to understand why they chose to act out, so that I can help them avoid acting out in the future,” reads Chubon’s cover letter for the principal position.
In the application, Chubon also answered “no” to the question, “Have you ever been convicted of a felony or misdemeanor, or do you currently have a felony or misdemeanor charge pending?”
Chubon soon was identified as a top candidate and was interviewed twice in May 2025 before being offered the job. This was all while he was attending court hearings for his case, which MCS states it was never aware of.
On the day of his conviction, Jan. 14, Chubon notified the state Commission on Teacher Credentialing. His employment with MCS officially ended that day.
Two days later, the district sent out a press release about Chubon’s charges and that he no longer was an employee.
