What Has Been Reported

On October 15, 2025, the Elk Grove Police Department announced the arrest of David Thomas Collins, a 38-year-old science teacher at Laguna Creek High School, in connection with two felony sex offenses involving a former student. According to police, the victim was a minor who attended the same school where Collins taught.

According to the Elk Grove Citizen, the investigation began when former students — not the district itself — came forward and reported allegations to the Elk Grove Unified School District. The district then notified the police department and placed Collins on administrative leave. According to multiple news outlets, detectives determined that Collins allegedly carried on an inappropriate and sexual relationship with the student over an extended period, sometime between 2015 and 2018.

According to the Elk Grove Daily News, investigators served a search warrant at Collins's Sacramento home, confirmed the allegations, and took him into custody. He was reportedly booked into the Sacramento County Main Jail without bail on charges of oral copulation with a person under 18 (Penal Code § 287(b)(1)) and penetration by a foreign object of a victim under 18 (Penal Code § 289(h)).

Sacramento County Superior Court records reflect that Collins was arraigned on October 17, 2025, and retained private counsel. Court records show the case remains active, with a mandatory settlement conference currently scheduled for April 24, 2026.

Questions About the District's Role

The criminal prosecution of David Collins addresses his individual conduct. But for families affected by what happened at Laguna Creek High School, there is a separate and equally important set of questions that only a civil case can answer.

According to the Elk Grove Police Department, the alleged sexual relationship between Collins and the student reportedly spanned multiple years — from 2015 to 2018. An ongoing relationship of that nature and duration, occurring between a teacher and a student within the same school, raises serious questions about institutional oversight. How did this go undetected for years? Were there signs that were missed or ignored? Did other staff members observe anything concerning? Were students ever given a safe and effective way to report this kind of conduct?

It is also notable that, according to the police department, the allegations ultimately surfaced because former students reported them to the district — years after the fact. The district did not uncover the alleged abuse through its own processes. A civil investigation would examine whether the district had adequate policies, training, and supervision in place to identify and prevent this kind of misconduct, or whether those systems failed.

Under California law, a public school district that negligently hires, supervises, or retains an employee who sexually abuses a student may be held independently liable. The question is not just what the teacher did — it is whether the institution created conditions that allowed it to happen and continue.

How the Law Protects Victims in This Case

Even though victims in this case have years remaining under the statute of limitations, early action by a civil attorney can be critical. In cases involving public school districts, relevant records — personnel files, internal complaints, emails between administrators, training logs, and supervision protocols — are all subject to document retention policies that can result in routine destruction over time. A litigation hold letter directed to the Elk Grove Unified School District puts the district on formal legal notice that it must preserve all records related to Collins and the circumstances surrounding his employment. Without that step, key documents can disappear — not necessarily through bad faith, but simply through ordinary bureaucratic processes.

Because the Elk Grove Unified School District is a public entity, there is another tool available to families and their attorneys that does not exist in cases against private schools: the California Public Records Act (Government Code §§ 7920.000 et seq.). The PRA requires public agencies, including school districts, to disclose public records upon request unless a specific statutory exemption applies. In a case like this, PRA requests can be used to obtain a wide range of records — even before a lawsuit is filed — including hiring and personnel records, employment contracts, background check and fingerprinting compliance documents, internal complaints and disciplinary files, board meeting minutes, field trip approvals and chaperone records, vendor agreements, insurance certificates, and policies and procedures that were in effect at the time of the alleged abuse. These records can reveal whether the district followed its own policies, whether red flags were missed or ignored, and whether the safeguards that should have been in place to protect students actually existed. The district bears the burden of justifying any refusal to produce records, and if it fails to comply, a court can order disclosure and award attorney fees and costs under Government Code section 7923.115.

Contact Law Enforcement

According to news reports, the Elk Grove Police Department is asking anyone with additional information about David Collins to contact the Investigations Bureau at (916) 478-8112.