Teacher Charged With Sex Crime Is Suspended

A 27-year veteran high school teacher who has been charged with molesting a 15-year-old girl was suspended from his teaching position by the Burbank school board on Thursday and could face up to 12 years in prison if convicted, police said.

Robert Goar, chairman of the Burroughs High School science department, was arrested Feb. 21 by detectives of the Los Angeles Police Department’s North Hollywood Division, who had been investigating him in connection with sexual crimes since December, said Det. Diane Webb.

Goar’s arrest comes on the heels of a still-unfolding sex scandal at Burbank High School, in which a 51-year-old school fund-raiser faces a felony charge for allegedly seducing a 17-year-old student.

“It’s so unfortunate that these two things happened at the same time,” said school board member Denise Lioy Wilcox.

“I know there is that perception out there that the district is full of sex fiends, but it really is not a deserved reputation. But considering all the things that have gone on, I can’t blame people for thinking that.”

Goar, 53, of Toluca Lake, faces three felony molestation charges: penetration with a foreign object, oral copulation and sexual acts with a minor in which the perpetrator is at least 10 years older than the victim. Police would reveal few details about the alleged victim, but said she is not a student of Goar’s, but is the daughter of a friend.

Webb would not comment on whether Goar and the child were engaged in a consensual sexual affair, but said Goar is not charged with rape or forcible sexual assault. She said the crimes were reported to police in December by the girl’s parents and school counselors.

School district officials would not disclose whether Goar has been the target of complaints from parents or his own students in the past.

Goar has been teaching in the Burbank Unified School District since 1968, and in recent years he has been instrumental in helping his school obtain grants for science programs. In 1991, he was selected science department chairman by other faculty members.

“That would imply that he is seen as an effective teacher and a leader by his peers,” said Supt. David Aponik. “But it certainly wouldn’t justify these type of allegations outside the classroom.”

Goar, who has not returned to the school since his arrest, will remain on compulsory leave until the criminal case is settled, and his teaching credential has also been suspended, Aponik said.

If he is acquitted or the charges against him are dropped, he may return to the school, but if he is found guilty he will permanently lose his job and state teaching credential, Aponik said.