Tri-Valley Cheer Coach Gets Max Sentence In Child Sex Abuse Case

CONCORD, CA — A former East Bay teacher and cheerleading instructor was sentenced to state prison after being convicted of sexually abusing and exploiting minors, the Contra Costa County District Attorney’s Office announced.

Former San Ramon School District biology teacher and cheerleading coach Nicholas Brandon Moseby, 44, was sentenced to three years and 8 months in state prison, the maximum term allowed by law, and ordered to register for life as a sex offender.

Moseby was taken into custody after the sentencing by Judge Joni T. Hiramoto to begin the prison sentence.

He was granted 107 days of time served for the time he spent in jail after his arrest in 2022, according to reports.

The judge imposed the sentence after disagreeing with a recommendation from a probation office and Moseby’s defense, according to reports.

Moseby, a Concord resident, was convicted on Oct. 17 by Contra Costa County jurors of one felony count of lewd acts upon a child, one felony count of distributing or showing pornography to a minor, and three misdemeanor counts involving child molestation and sexual battery.

In the second phase of the trial on Wednesday, the jury determined that the following aggravating factors applied to Moseby's conviction: the victim was particularly vulnerable, the crimes demonstrated planning and sophistication, and Moseby exploited a position of trust to commit the offenses.

Police arrested Moseby in September 2022 when he was accused of sending an underage girl pornographic images. More victims came forward in the case against Moseby, who worked as a biology teacher at Diablo Vista Middle School in Danville and a cheerleading coach for Nor Cal Elite in San Ramon.

The Contra Costa County Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force served a search warrant at Moseby’s Concord residence on Sept. 14, 2022 after receiving a report he had sent harmful material to a minor. The subsequent investigation determined Moseby had also unlawfully touched several different minors at schools he taught at, and during cheerleading training session in the San Ramon area.

However, the Mercury News reported that students at San Ramon Valley High School in Danville had warned the school's administrators about Moseby's inappropriate behavior prior to his 2022 arrest for molestation.

“This sentencing marks the end of a three-year legal process and delivers long-awaited justice for the brave victims who came forward," Contra Costa District Attorney Diana Becton said in a statement. "We hope this outcome brings them a measure of closure and affirms that their voices were heard.”