San Francisco, CA
Teacher in South San Francisco arrested on charges of lewd acts with minors
A teacher at Parkway Heights Middle School in South San Francisco was arrested Thursday on charges of lewd acts with minors after police investigated “inappropriate behavior” with students.
Ahmad Rafah, an eighth-grade teacher at Parkway Heights Middle School, was arrested by police at his home Thursday and booked in San Mateo County jail. Rafah faces 12 counts of committing lewd and lascivious acts with minors, according to a South San Francisco Police Department news release.
Police said they began investigating Rafah after receiving information of inappropriate interactions with students. The San Francisco Unified School District had placed him on administrative leave.
Lewd acts with minors are defined as acts “arousing, appealing to, or gratifying the lust, passions, or sexual desires of that person or the child,” according to the California penal code.
San Francisco, CA
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San Francisco, CA
Driver Arrested After Pedestrian Killed, Three Injured In Mission District Crash
One pedestrian died at the hospital and three others suffered non-life-threatening injuries after a driver struck them in SF’s Mission District earlier this week.
The San Francisco Police Department arrested a driver suspected of fatally striking four pedestrians in the area of 16th and Mission streets Monday morning, as KRON4 reports.
Officers responded to the scene at 12:13 am and found medics treating one pedestrian with life-threatening injuries. The person later died at a nearby hospital, and three other pedestrians sustained non-life-threatening injuries.
The driver was reportedly detained soon after the collision. The department has not announced what charges they will receive.
“We hold the victim and their loved ones in our thoughts, and grieve this loss of life on San Francisco’s streets,” said Jodie Medeiros, executive director for Walk SF, in a release. “We all deserve to be able to get around safely in our city.”
This marks the ninth pedestrian death in San Francisco this year. It’s also the second such death in the Mission, following the tragic death of local musician Danielle Spillman at Mission Street and South Van Ness Avenue in April, as SFist reported previously.
Four pedestrians were killed throughout the month of March, including deaths in Chinatown, the Financial District, North Beach, and the Outer Mission. In late February, a two-year-old was run over in Mission Bay.
Anyone with information may contact the SFPD at 415-575-4444 or text “TIP411,” beginning with “SFPD.”
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San Francisco, CA
California Supreme Court ruling on bail sparks debate over what it means for San Francisco’s safety
A recent California Supreme Court ruling is changing how bail is set across the state, and it’s sparking a sharp debate in San Francisco about what it could mean for public safety.
Inside her office, District Attorney Brooke Jenkins said every decision carries weight. She views her role through one lens: protecting the public.
“My responsibility to San Francisco is public safety,” Jenkins said. “And to be transparent to me in achieving that safety. This is a ruling that has real-life consequences, and deny that would be untruthful and would not help people understand why we may see retraction from our progress.”
The ruling requires judges to set bail at levels defendants can afford, shifting the focus away from cash bail and toward whether someone poses a risk to public safety.
Jenkins said she believes that shift could have serious consequences.
“I knew it would be immediately be devastating to public safety and the state of California and had a lot of concerns that I thought needed to be shared with the public and other city leaders,” she said.
She warns that the change could make it easier for repeat offenders, particularly those involved in drug-related crimes, to be released before trial.
“These judges don’t live in San Francisco, many of them,” Jenkins said. “They don’t live in places like the Tenderloin that are most affected by these issues. They are ruling in a way that has impacts on other people’s lives.”
But not everyone agrees with that assessment.
San Francisco Defense Attorney Marsanne Weese said the ruling does not eliminate accountability and that courts still have tools to detain people who pose a threat.
“In regards to her statements, there is no basis for it,” Weese said. “And the justices pointed out that there are a number of non-financial tools the lower courts can use and should use.”
Those tools include options like pretrial detention and supervised release, which allow judges to consider risk without relying solely on a person’s ability to pay bail.
“So, in regards to this being a drastic change, yes, it will be a drastic change, but not to safety,” Weese added.
For Jenkins, the concern is not just the intent of the law, but how it will be applied in real-world courtrooms and what that means on city streets.
For now, there is unease for some, optimism for others, and a growing debate over what public safety will look like under this new system.
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