A high school principal has stepped down after allegations surfaced that he solicited sexual encounters from both current and former students via Grindr. Reports indicate he had dreams of a “secret school meeting.”
Jonathan M. Fay, who was the principal of Amador Valley High School in Northern California, reportedly reached out to students using a Grindr account named “Eye Emoji.” As noted by Ed Source, which focuses on California education news, the correspondence was detailed in a report from the Pleasanton Unified School District.
In communications highlighted in the district’s investigation, Fay’s account reached out to a former student with a message stating, “I’ve always loved you.”
He went on to say, “Didn’t you notice last year that I went out of my way to say hello and smile every time I saw you?” This raises some eyebrows, right?
Allegedly, Fay also mentioned wanting to keep his identity a secret while expressing a desire for dating. In another message to a current student, he complimented him by saying, “hot as hell,” and the student responded by mentioning a fondness for “secret school trysts.”
At one point during the exchange, a student queried, “Are you the principal?”
“Why do you think that?” Fay replied. The student retorted, “I just know you’ll believe me when you’re not careful.”
After a series of flirtatious and disturbing messages, the former student finally expressed discomfort, saying, “I’m embarrassed to read this.”
He added, “I don’t want to be rude, but you’re a grown man with a wife and kids, acting like this is your first high school relationship. I honestly don’t know what you’re expecting. The fact that you were my principal and the age difference is so creepy.”
Fay, 54, has been with the school district since 2022 and was informed in February of his impending layoff after taking several months off. He appealed the decision last week but ultimately accepted a settlement of $254,000.
Fay maintains that he is not behind the “eye emoji” account, suggesting that his identity has been stolen. His attorney noted that there have been previous cases of students at Amador Valley High impersonating others online.
“The allegations against me are false,” Fay declared in a statement through his public relations firm.
According to Justin Brown, the Pleasanton Unified School District Board President, an independent investigator confirmed the misconduct allegations against Fay, a matter the district takes seriously.
The school district aims to resolve the situation without putting students and staff through the strain of a potentially adversarial hearing, Brown explained, while also conserving resources that could be spent on legal battles.
