Local News in Brief : San Clemente : Teacher Resigns Post Following Conviction

William G. Gekas, the former San Clemente High School drama teacher convicted last week of five misdemeanor counts of contributing to the delinquency of a minor, has resigned.

Municipal Judge Edward Laird found Gekas, 41, guilty after a two-day trial. He was accused of keeping a 17-year-old female student out past curfew, furnishing her with alcohol and encouraging her to disobey her mother.

Sentencing is scheduled for April 21, when Gekas, of Newport Beach, will face up to a year in jail and a $500 fine for each count.

Gekas’ resignation, which was accepted Monday by the Capistrano Unified School District Board of Trustees, will take effect April 1. He has been on paid administrative leave since September, when a subcommittee of the state Commission on Teacher Credentialing recommended that his credentials be revoked.

Gekas, a drama teacher at the high school since 1979, was arrested in January, 1987, after a yearlong investigation by the Orange County district attorney’s office.

A press release issued by the school district on Tuesday stated: “Throughout the entire time of the investigation, it was made clear to Mr. Gekas that if he were found guilty of any charges which may have been filed against him, the district would immediately move for dismissal.”