June 24, 2004

Almaden tutor arrested for fondling students

By Kymberli W. Brady
Staff Writer

Last Wednesday, police announced the arrest of a San Jose man suspected of inappropriately touching students at the Kumon Math and Reading Center, located at Redmond Avenue and Almaden Expressway.

Jyhchung Jack Shieh, 51, surrendered to authorities June 12, after two warrants for his arrest were issued for two misdemeanor counts of child annoyance.

The arrest comes at the culmination of a seven-month investigation by Police Department Child Exploitation Detail Detective Robert Dillon, which began when a 9-year-old girl came forward in December and reported that Shieh had touched her inappropriately during a tutoring session. A second victim was identified and, when questioned, also admitted that Shieh touched her in an inappropriate manner. Dillon then turned the case over to the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s office and warrants were issued.

Shieh is the owner of the Kumon franchise in Almaden and operated the center with his wife Jenny. He had been a tutor for nearly 14 years at the time of his arrest. It is believed that while most of the approximately 200 students at the center were taught in large, open classrooms, he tutored others in a private office. Investigators feel that there may be more victims in this case and encourage them to come forward.

“We’re still working to get the word out and see if there are any more victims,” explained Dillon. “A lot of these kids have admitted that they were uncomfortable, but were too embarrassed to come forward.”

According to Senior Vice President Larry Lambert, Kumon Tutoring Centers has agreed to do everything possible to cooperate fully with the police investigation. “We are prohibiting Mr. Shieh from entering his Kumon Center or having any contact with the students, and he has agreed to our demands in that area until the matter is resolved,” he said. “The safety and well-being of our Kumon students is our number one priority.”

The school will remain open and will be closely monitored by Kumon staff, while Jenny Shieh will continue to teach the daily instruction.

“For the past several days, we’ve been handing out letters to all the parents and giving them the name and phone number of the detective,” added Lambert. “To our knowledge, no one else has stepped forward, and I’m not aware of any who have withdrawn their students. In fact, we’ve had quite a substantial number of parents express their support for Mr. Shieh and it remains to be seen what impact this will have on his enrollment.”

On Tuesday, Detective Dillon stated that two more students had come forward and the investigation remains ongoing. “I don’t know the extent of the contact yet,” he admitted. “We will still prosecute on what we have, but more victims will show that this is not an isolated event. It’s important that the parents communicate with their kids and find out if anything inappropriate has happened. They can give us a call if they’re concerned.”

Shieh later posted $25,000 bail and was released from custody while he awaits trial. A court date has not yet been set.

To report any information involving this case, contact Detective Robert Dillon at the Police Department’s Child Exploitation Detail at (408) 277-4102. Those preferring to remain anonymous can call Crime Stoppers at (408) 947-STOP.