Napa teacher takes plea deal in sex abuse case

A Napa high school teacher accused of sexual activity with a Sonoma County teen has agreed to a plea deal that could mean several years in prison.

Josefat Estrada, 35, last week agreed to admit three counts of committing sex acts with the teen, who reported that the abuse began in 2005 when he was 14 years old.

Estrada was initially charged with 10 felony counts, but on May 8 entered no contest pleas to three charges, including one that alleges the boy was incapable of resisting during one instance.

That charge carries a maximum term of eight years in prison. Each of the other two counts, having oral sex with a minor, carries one-year maximum terms.

Estrada was arrested in November by Sonoma County sheriff’s detectives after the teen, now an adult, reported the activity. Although Estrada was a teacher in Napa County, the boy lived in Sonoma County, where the alleged abuse occurred.

He remains at Sonoma County Jail on $235,000 bail.

The Napa Unified School District suspended Estrada when he was arrested and placed him on unpaid leave pending the outcome of the criminal case. Estrada was a math teacher at Vintage High School. The boy wasn’t a student.

Estrada is scheduled to be sentenced on July 1. He will have to register as a sex offender.