By New York Post (U.S.) | Created at 2026-06-03 12:11:13 | Updated at 2026-06-08 01:03:40
4 days ago
Los Angeles’ top education official helped clear the way for a wrestling coach suspended over sexual misconduct allegations to return to high school — where he later abused nine students in a scandal that shocked the city.
Andres Chait was made temporary LAUSD superintendent on February 27th after Alberto Carvalho was suspended on full pay amid a corruption investigation that saw the FBI raid his family home in San Pedro.
Law enforcement sources say Carvahlo, 61, in being probed in the the collapse of a multimillion-dollar AI project. He continues to collect his $440,000 salary. Hong ”Grace” Peng, 53, a technical prject manager, has been accused of running an alleged eye-popping $22 million kickback scheme. She has pled not guilty.
The LAUSA has also faced criticism for its last-minute decision to offer teachers and other staff whopping pay rises costing taxpayers $1.2 billion despite students recording lower averages than the rest of the state.
The California Post can now reveal that based on a newly uncovered deposition Chait played an integral role in allowing rapist pedophile coach Terry Gillard to return his role at John H. Francis Polytechnic High School in April 2016.
Gillard, who is now serving 71 years prison, was placed on ”reassignment” and suspended from his role after being accused by a campus aide of repeatedly offering her money in exchange for sex, the deposition reveals.
Chait was questioned by attorney Morgan Stewart at the deposition about LASUD’s response after the aide reported Gillard as part of a compensation claim by his victims.
The investigation into Gillard’s behavior was assigned to the LAUSD’s Student Safety Investigation Team, or SSIT, the testimony shows.
Chait, who was the LAUSD administrator responsible for the northeast district at the time, didn’t send out the standard 72-hour notice to parents because ‘there were no students involved.”
At the conclusion of the investigation, Chait decided to allow Gillard to return to his role with a reminder of the relevant district policies, Chait testified.
“My initial thought — and it ended up being ultimately what I did — was that we had a case where you had, you know, a categorical denial by Gillard of having done anything,” Chait said under oath during video depositing for students seeking compensation.
“You had nothing in terms of corroboration. Gillard had no prior incidents. He hadn’t been written up for anything before. There were no prior concerns. So at that point, it was my thought would be that he would be sent back to Poly.”
Gillard returned to the school on April 18, 2016, the papers say, where he spent the next 14 months coercing wrestlers into sexual acts with him and each other, often in the van from the nonprofit Boys and Girls Club.
Gillard was only arrested after a 17-year-old female wrestler secretly filmed him sexually abusing her in his car and brought the video to the school’s principal, Ari Bennett, in June 2017, court papers show.
Gillard was eventually convicted in 2019 of sexually abusing nine teenage wrestlers he coached at the school.
Prosecutors alleged he’d been abusing children since 1991, often forcing victims to engage in sex acts while he watched.
A jury found him guilty on 47 counts involving child molestation and other sex crimes against 15 minors, including against children as young as 11.
Superior Court Judge Hayden Zacky said Gillard exploited his position of authority to prey on the students he was supposed to protect, destroying their innocence and forever altering their lives.
The disgraced coach, 65, is serving 71 years in prison.
LAUSD later paid his victims $52 million to settle a lawsuit over the abuse in 2022.
Plaintiff attorney Morgan Stewart said after the settlement that the LAUSD ”placed Gillard back into an environment with minor students following a suspension for sexual misconduct.”
”They did not clear him of the allegations and made no efforts to warn students or their parents of the risks they faced at his hands,” he said.
Chait’s bio for the LAUSD states he “brings decades of experience as an educator and district leader.”
”From kindergarten teacher to principal, Local District Superintendent to Chief of School Operations, he has built a strong track record of student-centered leadership and operational excellence,” his bio claims.
Chait and the LAUSD have not returned repeated requests for comment on the matter.
