Edhat Staff
Former Santa Barbara Charter School teacher Steven Schapansky, who faces multiple charges involving minors, has failed to appear for his scheduled arraignment in court on Friday morning.
The revelation emerged after the 54-year-old sent messages to his family and friends earlier in the week, expressing his intention to evade the Santa Barbara Superior Court proceedings.
Senior Deputy District Attorney Casey Nelson reported to Judge Thomas Adams that Schapansky’s family immediately alerted the authorities upon receiving his texts. Previously, Schapansky had been charged with two felony counts of lewd or lascivious acts against two minors and 70 misdemeanor counts of unlawful electronic peeping of 44 minors.
The investigation, which began after allegations surfaced of Schapansky secretly recording minors in various changing locations, including the school, later identified him as a suspect in a child molestation case. Last Friday, Schapansky was arrested in Fresno and booked into the Northern Branch Jail, where he posted the $100,000 bail and was released on Sunday.
As a new concern, Nelson communicated to the court that they have obtained photos of Schapansky departing on a motorcycle carrying a large bag, and emphasized that Schapansky holds a pilot’s license, deeming him a significant flight risk.
The defense attorney, Robert Sanger, shared that Schapansky’s family fears he may be suicidal, notably after he left behind his pet dog. “I hope he has not committed suicide, but his family believes his life is in danger,” said Sanger.
In a courtroom filled with around a dozen family members of the victims, Judge Adams issued a no-bail warrant for Schapansky’s arrest in relation to the misdemeanor charges and set a new court date for November 13 to contemplate increasing his bail concerning the felony charges.
This development causes deep concern among the victims’ families and the larger community, who are left anxious and unsettled by the potential implications of Schapansky’s failure to appear and the risk of his flight.
Law enforcement agencies and authorities are encouraging anyone with information regarding Schapansky’s whereabouts to come forward as efforts intensify to locate the former teacher.
Further details will be divulged to the public as they become available.
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How did a molester with a pilot’s license (a literal flight risk) get out on bail? Oh wait….. they got Sanger.
Balash was a better trial attorney in his prime imo. However, yes Robert Sanger knows EVERYONE in the DA’s office. Knows nearly every judge as well. So you nailed that one.
1980RIPS – Yeah, he definitely has a lot more pull that ol Doc thinks he does. Can’t fault the guy too much though, he’s good at what he does!
I’m as irritated at this as anyone, but having a pilot’s license doesn’t automatically make you a flight risk. That would be ridiculous if anyone with a pilot’s license was automatically denied bail.
ANON – never said people with a pilot’s license should always be denied bail. But yeah, a guy who has the means to easily get far away from this county and state at a moments notice (just gotta rent a plane if he doesn’t own one already) is going to be a higher flight risk. A guy who is facing years of brutality in prison, even more so.
“a molester with a pilot’s license”
“anyone with a pilot’s license”
Notice a difference? (“A straw man fallacy …is the informal fallacy of refuting an argument different from the one actually under discussion, while not recognizing or acknowledging the distinction.”)
Here’s what ChatGPT says:
In a case like the one you’ve described, involving serious felony and misdemeanor charges against a person with a pilot’s license, the court might indeed consider the individual a potential flight risk under certain conditions. Here’s why:
1. Access to Aircraft:
A person with a pilot’s license has the ability to operate an aircraft, which could theoretically give them an opportunity to leave the jurisdiction, especially if they have personal access to a plane or relationships with other pilots. Even though airports have security measures, private flights and smaller airports often have less oversight compared to commercial travel.
2. Severity of Charges:
The charges you mentioned — two felony counts of lewd or lascivious acts against minors and 70 misdemeanor counts of unlawful electronic peeping — are very serious. The seriousness of the charges can influence whether the court sees the person as having a strong incentive to flee to avoid a potentially lengthy prison sentence.
3. Professional Consequences:
If convicted, the person would likely face both legal penalties and revocation of their pilot’s license by the FAA, as criminal convictions (especially involving minors) would violate the FAA’s standards of good moral character. This could further motivate the person to flee before facing the full consequences.
4. Judicial Discretion:
Courts assess flight risk on a case-by-case basis. Factors include:
History of following the law (or any previous attempts to flee or evade legal proceedings).
Ties to the community (such as family, employment, or property ownership).
Financial resources (as someone with access to funds and the ability to fly could be more capable of fleeing).
In this specific scenario, given the charges, a judge might see the person’s ability to fly and the potential consequences of a conviction as increasing their flight risk. If the court deems them a flight risk, it could lead to higher bail or other restrictions, such as surrendering their pilot’s license and passport to prevent flight.
Example of Legal Actions:
Surrender of Pilot’s License and Passport: The court might order the individual to surrender their pilot’s license and passport as a condition of bail to limit their ability to flee.
Higher Bail or Denial of Bail: The judge may impose a higher bail amount or even deny bail if the risk is considered too high.
So while a pilot’s license alone does not automatically make someone a flight risk, when combined with serious criminal charges, it can be a factor that increases concern.
Devil’s advocate says innocent until proven guilty means there is no legal difference between “anyone with a pilot’s license” and “a molester with a pilot’s license”.
In cases like these, YES, it is a hard pill to swallow.
Don’t pass off your absurd fallacious arguments as those of the devil.
Take that argument to its logical conclusion, and *any* suspect should not be detained or denied bail until convicted. Can’t you see how silly that is?
It literally does.
Don’t pilots fly?
Well that about says it all. Guilty basturd.
Yep–hey, you could print the guy’s picture out and tape it to your pillow and punch away. Work out all that angry little dude energy–for free!
The judge, not Sanger, made the call on bail. Sanger can only do what he’s hired to do and work within a very liberal local/state judicial system. He worked it. The system is the problem.
Yeah, you don’t really know how a criminal proceeding goes, obviously. Do you even know which side Sanger represents? You act like he was constrained somehow by the “liberal” judicial system…… LOL
Huh? Sanger’s the defense attorney representing this clown. You said blame Sanger that the guy has run, and I said don’t blame Sanger, he’s doing his job. He doesn’t set bail, the judge sets the bail. I think you’re confused.
“You said blame Sanger that the guy has run”
One of a billion lies.
BASIC – “You said blame Sanger that the guy has run” – No. I never said that. Not at all.
BASIC – fake quotes? They are YOUR WORDS. My god, dude, you’re all over the place. Why you so obsessed with blame and fault? I never blamed or faulted anyone.
You’re clearly spiraling out over a subject you obviously have no knowledge about. It’s embarrassing now for you. Give it a rest.
Like damn…. dude. LOL you’re on a weird one.
Oh and BASIC – you’ve never been able to point to a single “lie” by me here, while on the other hand, plenty of people have caught you lying on multiple subjects.
Look up the term, “projection.”
Apparently you don’t know what kind of juice Sanger has here in town especially.
He probably didn’t flee , he probably had to show up for a new job doing the same thing, probably not allowed to do a background check on him-Thanks Libs!
“Probably, probably, probably”.
To translate your MAGA speak–I have absolutely no idea what I’m talking about.
OK you can open your eyes now
I’m a conservative and that was an ignorant comment.
1 is probably 2–thanks libs!