A former employee of a Walnut Creek performing arts school who was arrested this spring on allegations that he had sex with and impregnated a student is part of a lawsuit filed last week against him and the company that ran the school, lawyers for the plaintiffs said.
Gerard Flaherty was employed at the now-shuttered Contra Costa School of Performing Arts, a public charter school that was owned and operated by ChartHouse Public Schools.
Flaherty worked as a “climate and culture supervisor” at the school. According to the job description listed on the education job site EDJOIN, the role at the Walnut Creek school was described as that of a “dean of students and campus supervisor.” It did not require a credential and the school said it would be fingerprinting and doing a background check on finalists for the position.
In April, Flaherty was arrested by the Walnut Creek Police Department and subsequently charged with one count of alleged forcible rape of a child over 14, one count of alleged assault to commit a felony on a victim under 18, and one count of unlawful sexual intercourse.
A lawsuit was filed Wednesday by “Jane Doe,” and her mother, “Janice Doe,” according to court documents. In it, plaintiffs allege multiple red flags about Flaherty’s conduct at the school that they say were not addressed.
“During the 2024-2025 school year, while Plaintiff was seventeen years old and a student at COCOSPA, Flaherty used his position of trust and authority to gain access to her, groom her for his sexual advances, rape/sexually assault, and impregnate her on school grounds in his office on campus,” the complaint reads.
Lawyers for the plaintiff allege the school’s executive director Catherine Foster dismissed concerns about Flaherty, stating “that would never happen here” and that the reports were just rumors.
“Despite multiple reports from students, parents and staff about Flaherty’s troubling behavior, the school administration, including Executive Director Catherine Foster,” allegedly failed to act,” said the office of Doe’s attorney, Lauren Cerri.
Attempts to reach Flaherty’s attorney were not successful, and ChartHouse Public Schools was also not immediately available for comment.
Flaherty was arrested after a wiretapped phone call allegedly revealed him begging Jane Doe to have an abortion, “as she would ‘ruin’ his and his children’s lives if she kept the baby,” according to the complaint.
According to the charging documents against Flaherty filed by the Contra Costa County District Attorney’s Office in May, he is being charged with the alleged forcible rape of a child over 14 stemming from Feb. 19 of this year.
According to the plaintiff, on that day, Flaherty allegedly invited Doe into his office and supplied her with alcohol, telling her he was having a bad day because a parent yelled at him. He allegedly said he needed a hug and forcibly embraced her. When she rebuffed his advances and pushed him away, he allegedly asked why she was uncomfortable “since this is her fault, due to the way she dresses and looks at him,” the complaint reads.
“Flaherty began rubbing Plaintiff’s leg and reiterated to her that if anything happens between them, it is not his fault, it is her fault,” the complaint alleges.
Flaherty then allegedly forced himself on her and engaged in sexual intercourse, saying “This is so bad. This is so bad” during it, the complaint further alleges.
Flaherty is next due in criminal court on Sept. 24 for a preliminary hearing on the evidence, prosecutors said.