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A former coach and administrator at a now-closed North Fair Oaks charter school was sentenced on Sept. 8 to two years and eight months in prison — the maximum allowed under his plea agreement — for sexually abusing two students at the school, according to San Mateo County court records.
Palo Alto resident Anthony Gutierrez-Molina, 32, pleaded no contest on May 27 to three felony counts of unlawful sexual intercourse and two felony counts of oral copulation with a minor under a plea agreement that capped his sentence.
According to prosecutors, Gutierrez-Molina repeatedly had sexual intercourse with two victims, ages 16 and 17, over several years. He worked as an athletic director, soccer coach and community engagement manager at Summit Everest High School in North Fair Oaks. The school, operated by charter network Summit Public Schools, closed in 2025.
“Every parent sends their child to school believing that school, like your home, is a place of safety. And when instead your child gets exposed to and victimized by sexual assault … right there by an employee at the school, that is a horrible offense,” said San Mateo County District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe.
Wagstaffe said his office had sought a sentence of more than five years but was glad Gutierrez-Molina was sentenced to prison and will be required to register as a sex offender.
“My client and I were disappointed in the sentence the court gave him,” Gutierrez-Molina’s attorney Ruben Muñoz told this news organization “Given that the victims were 16 and 17 and with the totality of everything, we think the court could have easily chosen probation — and it would not have been a lenient sentence, but a just one.”
Gutierrez-Molina was arrested in March and charged with 17 felonies after one victim reported in January to the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office that she had had sexual intercourse with a school administrator, according to court records. Investigators later identified a second victim.
The first victim said Gutierrez-Molina had sexual intercourse with her on campus and at his Palo Alto apartment from February 2023 until August 2025.
She said Gutierrez-Molina told her to keep the abuse secret because of his marriage and immigration status, according to court records. The victim said the abuse ended when Gutierrez-Molina’s wife became pregnant.
The first victim told court officials that she is pursuing a civil lawsuit.
The second victim said Gutierrez-Molina groped her on campus in April 2023 and later forced himself on her at his apartment, court records show.
Following his plea, Gutierrez-Molina told a probation officer that his actions were wrong and acknowledged their impact on his victims.
“I begin by expressing in the clearest terms how profoundly ashamed I am for my actions. I accept full and complete responsibility for what I did. There is no blame to shift, no circumstances that excuses it,” Gutierrez-Molina wrote in a statement to Superior Court Judge Jeffery Jackson. “To the victims: I am sorry for the pain I caused you and for the trust I broke. … Every day from here, I am choosing accountability over avoidance.”
He said he grew up in El Salvador and witnessed gang violence, including seeing his father shoot someone outside his home. Gutierrez-Molina also said he was sexually abused several times, both in El Salvador and after he moved to the United States at 12 years old.
Gutierrez-Molina asked for probation so he could parent his son, but a probation officer recommended a prison sentence.
“The defendant abused a position of power and trust to victimize the (victims),” the probation officer wrote. “The psychological and emotional harm he inflicted on the (victims) is likely to have long-term consequences.”
Defense attorney Muñoz said in an interview that his client is working on rehabilitation. He said Gutierrez-Molina has been attending therapy and been involved in programs at his church.
At the Sept. 8 hearing, Jackson denied Gutierrez-Molina’s request to remain out of custody until his son’s first birthday. Gutierrez-Molina had been out of custody on a $500,000 bail.
