UKIAH, CA., 1/5/26 — A 37-year-old Ukiah High School journalism teacher arrested in November for allegedly sending inappropriate messages to a 17-year-old girl made an appearance in court Monday but has not yet been charged in the case.
Matt LaFever, a Hopland resident who was also the publisher of the now-shuttered MendoFever news website, was arrested Nov. 3 on suspicion of knowingly annoying or molesting a minor and was placed on leave from the high school after the Ukiah Unified School District first learned of the allegations in October.
Mendocino County Superior Court Judge Keith Faulder held the hearing Monday regarding the appointment of a special master to review information on LaFever’s seized electronic devices.
Both Deputy District Attorney Robert Waner and LaFever’s defense attorney, Orchid Vaghti of Santa Rosa, discussed the handling of what the judge said may be “privileged information” on LaFever’s devices.
A special master is a neutral expert appointed to handle cases that require technical or confidential review of evidence. In cases involving electronic devices, a special master might separate evidence protected by attorney-client privilege or other private information.
Since LaFever is a journalist, a special master could help protect unpublished stories and confidential sources, which are safeguarded under California’s shield law. This law allows reporters to refuse to disclose confidential sources or information in court.
Vaghti, who originally filed the request to appoint a special master, told the judge she would send a proposal by Tuesday for Faulder’s approval regarding the investigation of the devices.
A court document obtained by The Mendocino Voice states that both sides agreed on attorney Traci Carrillo of Santa Rosa being appointed as the special master.
Additionally, the court document notes that Vaghti’s “client will not be providing usernames and passwords as there is no consent” to the search of LaFever’s devices.
Since there have been no charges filed yet, Faulder said no future court dates are currently on the calendar in the case.
After LaFever’s arrest in November, the First Amendment Coalition, an organization that assists in protecting and promoting free speech and press rights, contacted local authorities about the investigation of LaFever’s devices.
FAC sent a letter on Nov. 7 to the Ukiah Police Department and the Mendocino County District Attorney’s Office to emphasize the strong protections the state has for journalists involved in court proceedings and investigations.
David Loy, FAC’s legal director, said in an interview that the letter was sent to ensure that local authorities were following state law.
“The point is to protect private data that is unrelated to the allegations and to protect the work product,” Loy said. “Any time there is a search or a subpoena of a reporter it brings up issues on the freedom of the press. The California shield law guarantees that confidential sources of reporters and any unpublished information of a reporter is off limits to law enforcement.”
Mendocino County District Attorney David Eyster said in an interview that it’s typical for the filing of charges to take time in cases where a special master has been appointed. He said authorities and the deputy district attorney will want to review the special master’s report before deciding how to move forward.
“That’s almost to be expected. The cops think there will be information that’s helpful on the electronics,” Eyster said. “Both sides are trying to see what’s going to flow from all this. Mr. Waner is probably trying to see what comes from all this. Under these circumstances that’s normal.”
Vaghti, LaFever’s attorney, declined to speak with The Mendocino Voice about the case.
Editor’s Note: Katherine Ann Rowlands, publisher of The Mendocino Voice, a site affiliated with the nonprofit Bay City News Foundation, serves as president of the First Amendment Coalition’s board of directors.
I think our local law enforcement has forgotten that a man is innocent until proven guilty. There are two sides to every story. ALWAYS!
Are you kidding? Seems like Mendocino county law enforcement never even learned that it is innocent until proven guilty.
It is more like if they look at you, you are guilty.
The tiniest violin is playing for Matt and his peers who trade favorable articles of local law enforcement in exchange for early access to stories where they publish peoples mugshots and roast them publicly based only on arrests.
Interesting! If they have information on him, why has he not been charged? After all he was arrested!
Next…
Can’t unsee how some local “journalists” that collaborated extensively with Matt reacted. Kym Kemp tried to hide from it. Elise Cox started posting about police buttholes to distract from her coworkers own. Frank Hartzell tried to ignore the whole thing. Bruce Anderson started showing empathy and talking about his own perversions. Who did I miss?
I have to wonder what dirt Matt has on local law enforcement and legal system.
Seems Ukiah PD only arrested Matt because of how much money they have been dolling out in settlements for similar acts from their own ranks.
Corruption at its best! He’ll get off like all the others.. I’m sure he has dirt on UPD, DA, judges. Ukiah is the only place you can get away with rape, being a pedophile, lets see where this goes! And the story on the collage teacher. Parents wake up! Who is teaching your child? UUSD knows…
Ukiah has cleaned their house immensely compared to mcso and willits PD. From what I understand Matt Lafever doesn’t have credentials for being a teacher or journalist. If you wanna go and harass high school girls just say your a journalist the then they will bring in the “MASTER OF PUPPETS” and you won’t get charges filed….
Parents wake up?!?!? The problem isn’t the parents, or the students. The problem is with the school district, law enforcement, the sheriff himself, the back ground checks, and over all judgment of characters that is placed in the schools to be with our kids all day. The system is lazy. Only ones working hard are those that hide the evidence and the fucked up cops that lie while on stand in front of the courts. Mendocino County where pedophiles and dirty cops, and illegal immigrants are welcomed with open arms and open pockets. It’s a sick display
I’m sure the 17year old victims parents are wondering what the hell is going on here. He was arrested wasn’t he? There must be more than hearsay evidence against him? Meanwhile he’s out and about. Strange indeed.