Date: 11/03/25
Location: Mendocino and Sonoma Counties.
Victim: 17-year-old female.
Suspects: Matthew P. Lafever, 37-year-old resident of Mendocino County
Violations: 647.6(a)(1) PC – Knowingly Annoy and or Molest a Minor.
On 10/16/25 the Ukiah Police Department was notified by a concerned parent of a Ukiah High School student that a teacher, Matthew Lafever, a journalism teacher at the high school, had made an inappropriate sexual comment towards her daughter. Through the course of the initial investigation into that incident, Ukiah Police Department Detectives learned that a different UHS student had information regarding Lafever contacting minors on social media.
UPD Detectives conducted an interview with the female high school student, who told the Detectives that she had conversed with Lafever on social media, informed him that she was a minor, and Lafever had persisted to make sexually suggestive comments about her and repeatedly asked her to send him inappropriate photographs. Lafever also sent the minor scantily clad and inappropriate photographs of himself. UPD Detectives obtained a search warrant for Lafever’s cell phone, computers, and residence. The following day UPD Detectives located Lafever at the Ukiah High School campus and seized his cell phone and multiple laptops. Lafever declined to provide the Detectives with a statement.
Lafever's electronic devices were forensically downloaded, and Detectives were able to confirm that the social media interaction described by the seventeen-year-old had occurred, and she had clearly informed Lafever that she was a minor. Through the course of their investigation the Detectives also located additional evidence that Lafever was reaching out to numerous minors throughout Sonoma and Mendocino Counties, however those victims have not been identified at this time due to the anonymity of social media.
On 11/03/25 UPD Detectives obtained an arrest warrant for Lafever for the crime of knowingly annoying and or molesting a minor. At approximately 7:00 a.m. UPD Detectives went to Lafever’s residence, and he was taken into custody. Lafever was booked into the Mendocino County jail for 647.6(a) PC and would be required to post a $10,000 bond.
Lafever used numerous variations of the screen name “Johhnyender” across multiple social media platforms, and the Ukiah Police Department is asking that any minors that had contact or received any messages from similar social media accounts to please contact us.
The Ukiah Police Department remains committed to keeping the residents of Ukiah safe and we appreciate the assistance we received from the Ukiah High School and the Mendocino County District Attorney’s Office. For updates about crime in your neighborhood, residents can sign up for telephone, cell phone, and email notifications by clicking the Nixle link on our website: www.ukiahpolice.com.
MENDOCINO COUNTY REPORTER ACCUSED OF SENDING SEXUAL MESSAGES TO 17-YEAR-OLD, Police Say
by Colin Atagi
Mendocino County news reporter was arrested Monday on suspicion of making sexual comments on social media toward a 17-year-old Ukiah High School student, police said.
Matt LaFever, 37, was taken into custody around 7 a.m. at his Hopland home following an investigation that began Oct. 16, according to the Ukiah Police Department. He is suspected of knowingly annoying or molesting a minor — a misdemeanor under California law that applies to sexually motivated behavior toward someone under 18 — and was being held Monday night at the Mendocino County jail on $10,000 bail, records show.
As of Monday evening, Mendocino County court records did not list formal charges.
LaFever, who covered news throughout Mendocino County on his website Mendofever — which was offline Monday night — had also recently been teaching journalism at Ukiah High School, police said.
The investigation began when a parent reported that LaFever made a sexual comment toward her 17-year-old daughter, police said. The student told investigators that LaFever sent her sexually suggestive messages on social media despite knowing she was a minor.
“LaFever had persisted to make sexually suggestive comments about her and repeatedly asked her to send him inappropriate photographs,” police said in a news release. Investigators said he also sent the girl “scantily clad and inappropriate photos of himself.”
Police confiscated LaFever’s phone and laptops on Oct. 17 and said they found social media conversations supporting the allegations. He allegedly used variations of the screen name “Johnnyender” to contact “numerous” minors throughout Mendocino and Sonoma counties, according to police.
Investigators have not yet identified other potential victims and are asking anyone with information to come forward.
(Santa Rosa Press Democrat)
UKIAH HIGH SCHOOL TEACHER AND REDHEADED BLACKBELT FREELANCER ARRESTED ON SUSPICION OF CONTACTING MINORS
by Kym Kemp
The Ukiah Police Department announced today that Matthew LaFever, a teacher with Ukiah Union High, Sf Gate North Coast Contributing Editor, owner of MendoFever and longtime freelancer who contributed to Redheaded Blackbelt for several years, has been arrested on suspicion of contacting minors and making sexually inappropriate comments online.
According to a press release from the Ukiah Police Department, the investigation began on October 16 after a parent reported that a Ukiah High School journalism teacher had made an inappropriate sexual comment toward her daughter. During the investigation, detectives learned that another student had information about the teacher contacting minors on social media.
Police allege that the teacher, later identified as LaFever, continued to make sexually suggestive comments toward a 17-year-old student and requested inappropriate photographs, even after being told she was a minor. Detectives obtained a search warrant for his phone, computers, and residence, and later said they found evidence confirming the social-media conversations occurred.
Investigators also reported finding indications that LaFever reached out to multiple minors across Sonoma and Mendocino counties.
LaFever was arrested on November 3, after police obtained a warrant for violating Penal Code 647.6(a) — annoying or molesting a child under 18. He was booked into the Mendocino County Jail with bail set at $10,000.
LaFever taught English and journalism at Ukiah High School. The Ukiah Unified School District has been contacted for comment but has not replied as of the time of publication.
For transparency, Redheaded Blackbelt notes that LaFever worked as a freelance reporter for this publication for several years, contributing local news articles.
Anyone who may have been contacted by social-media accounts using the name “Johhnyender” or similar variations is encouraged to reach out to the Ukiah Police Department at 707-463-6262.
UPDATE 5:03 p.m.: Ukiah High School responded saying:
“Mr. LaFever is on leave. We communicated with staff and parents Monday afternoon. Student safety is at the heart of everything we do. Upon learning of the allegations, the staff member was put on leave and remains on leave. Counselors will be available tomorrow at the high school for any student needing assistance.
(kymkemp.com)
WE'RE AS SHOCKED by Matt LeFever's arrest as everyone else who knows him and admires his work. We hope the charge proves unfounded. If the accusation turns out to be true, here's a young man — 37 — who stands to lose everything, his job at Ukiah High School, his budding journalism career, maybe even his family consisting of a young wife and two small children. The mere accusation is damaging enough. If true, well, LeFever loses everything.
ED NOTE: When I was young and presentable (and hungry), I took a fill-in job as a junior high school teacher in San Luis Obispo. The hiring superintendent told me, "I don't care what you do with them, just keep 'em from roaming the halls." My predecessor, a woman in her retirement year, had been driven nuts by her students, finally locking herself in with the most unruly class and swigging directly from a fifth of whiskey. The fire department had to break the door down. The little bastards were out of control, six classes of them ranging from non-readers to the "alleged gifted." In the "gifted" class, a mini-skirted fourteen-year old who looked like she was about thirty, sat with no underwear at a desk directly opposite me at the head of the class, deliberately exposing herself, smirking and blowing kisses. I went to the principal with the prob. "Nothing we can do. The father is president of our boosters."
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