DANVILLE >> A Bay Area middle school teacher and cheer coach accused of sexually abusing two girls was hired despite at least three criminal prosecutions against him since 2009, including one involving charges that he solicited a prostitute in 2015, according to court records.

Nicholas Moseby, 41, of Concord was charged by Contra Costa prosecutors last week with sexually abusing two girls, age 13 and 15, and sending a lewd video of himself to one of them. Since his arrest, this news organization has learned that Moseby has been charged with misdemeanors in Arizona, Santa Barbara and, most recently, Alameda County, in 2016.

The prostitution solicitation case stemmed from a November 2015 arrest when Moseby allegedly answered a prostitution ad that undercover Oakland cops set up. He was arrested when he arrived at a hotel on Mandela Parkway after agreeing to a $120 fee, according to authorities.

But in Gilbert, Arizona, where Moseby was charged with providing alcohol to a teen in 2009, and in Santa Barbara, where he was charged with being intoxicated in public in 2010, Moseby’s cases were never fully resolved. In September 2010, a Santa Barbara judge issued an arrest warrant for Moseby after he failed to arrive at his arraignment hearing. In December 2009, a Maricopa County judge also issued a warrant for Moseby’s failure to submit to court-ordered fingerprinting. Gilbert police claim that warrant was still active when Moseby was hired as a San Ramon Valley High School teacher last year, though authorities in the Bay Area say neither warrant showed up when Moseby was arrested last week.

At the time of his arrest, Moseby worked as both a middle school biology teacher and as a cheerleading coach for Nor Cal Elites, a private youth cheer organization. One of the girls Moseby is accused of molesting attended Nor Cal Elites. The other was a district school student who attended a PE class where Moseby substituted. This news organization is not naming which school she attended or when the alleged offense occurred to protect the girl’s identity.

When he was hired as a teacher in 2020, Moseby disclosed that he had been charged with providing alcohol to a minor, but didn’t tell the district about his more recent prostitution charge, district officials said. In the the Arizona case, Moseby was accused of buying alcohol for a 17-year-old girl who was friends with an 18-year-old high school student who attended the school where then 28-year-old Moseby worked at the time, according to authorities.

On Monday, San Ramon Valley Unified School District Superintendent John Malloy announced an “internal review” of both the district’s background checks for new hirings and of practices for “managing concerns and complaints” of teachers or staff, adding that the prostitution arrest didn’t show up on Moseby’s background check.

“It is concerning that reference checks and the required reports from our justice system and the commission for teacher credentialing raised no flags,” Malloy said in a written statement. “We are now reviewing every aspect of our own hiring practices to add additional layers of backgrounding which may not be required by law, but in my opinion, are an absolute must in order to be certain that something like this never happens again.”

Jason Runckel, a former prosecutor and civil attorney for both of Moseby’s alleged victims, said in an interview that there were multiple complaints involving inappropriate behavior by Moseby last year, which weren’t properly followed up on. Moseby was transferred from the high school to Diablo Vista Middle School in 2021.

“There is no excuse, justification or explanation as to why the San Ramon Valley Unified School District and Nor Cal Elites hired him with his past crimes in Alameda County and Arizona,” Runckel said. “It’s equally disturbing SVRUSD employees referred their own students to him for one-on-one trainings.”

A spokeswoman for Nor Cal Elites said the group had no idea about Moseby’s prosecution arrest until this news organization asked them for comment about it.

Police began investigating Moseby earlier this month, after one of the girls’ fathers reported that a cheerleading coach sent her a video of himself masturbating on social media. During an interview with police, the girl said that Moseby added her on Snapchat, asked for a picture of her “booty,” then sent a video of himself masturbating on a brown couch. Authorities say they found a video that matched her description during a search of Moseby’s Snapchat account. The girl also alleged Moseby inappropriately touched her during a workout session.

The second girl alleged that Moseby rubbed his private parts against her backside during a PE class, and that he appeared sexually aroused, according to court records. Authorities say they’ve identified more potential victims and are in the process of investigating those claims. It is unclear at this point whether additional charges will be filed against Moseby.

At his first court appearance Monday, Moseby’s public defender declined to enter a plea but asked for a chance to argue that Moseby’s bail be lowered. He is currently in custody in lieu of $200,000 bail. Moseby’s arraignment has been set for next week in Martinez.

Nicholas Moseby’s stepmother, Elizabeth Moseby, said in an email to this newspaper she believes her stepson is the victim of a “vendetta” that is “fueled by racial hatred” at the Danville schools where he taught. She said students have beens disciplined for threatening Moseby and that at least one of the threats included a racial slur.

Records obtained by this newspaper say that last May 26, San Ramon Valley High School’s principal, Whitney Cottrell, sent a message to students and parents saying that one of the school’s “beloved teachers” was receiving texts and calls calling him a racial slur. The teacher is not named.