Plea Hearing Delayed for Teacher Charged With Having Sex With Student

A former teacher charged with having sex with a 16-year-old student is now scheduled to enter a plea next month.

The plea hearing for Peter Kolesnikov, 38, was moved to March 29 so that Kolsenikov’s attorney, David Billingsley, could review new discovery obtained by Deputy District Attorney Jimmie Wilson.

Kolsenikov appeared in court Thursday morning at the Fremont Hall of Justice. He was out of custody after posting a $500,000 bail on Jan. 26.

and faces 22 counts of sexual assault, including charges of statutory rape, oral copulation of a minor and communicating with a minor with criminal intent, according to court records. He also faces one charge of possession of marijuana with intent to sell.

He was originally held on a $1 million bail but was granted a reduction on conditions that he surrender his passport and not have unsupervised communications with minors.

Wilson disagreed with the bail amount, asserting that Kolesnikov is “a danger to the community.”

Kolesnikov was after authorities received information that he had engaged in sexual relations with a 16-year-old girl over a nine-month period from March to November of last year. He was on his way to meet with the juvenile victim at an undisclosed location in Hayward during the time of his arrest, police said.

The victim, now 17, told police the relationship began with kissing and grew into sexual encounters in private homes and motels in Alameda County.

Authorities believe there may be additional victims.

A clerk at a hotel Kolesnikov frequented said that Kolesnikov has been seen with various girls, in addition to the victim, according to Wilson.

According to co-workers and district staff, Kolesnikov taught English and some art classes at James Logan High School for 12 years until he took leave at the end of the 2010-11 school year. The district would not comment on the nature of his leave but police said it was unrelated to criminal charges.

He was well-liked among both students and staff, said co-workers and several former students who attended Kolesnikov’s previous court appearances, though some online reviews were mixed, with posters calling him "brilliant" but "lacking in enthusiasm" for teaching.

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