Man convicted of ‘catfishing’ students in Gilroy arrested for alleged sex crime

CAMPBELL, Calif. — A man who has previously been convicted of catfishing students while teaching in Gilroy was arrested Oct. 16 in Campbell for allegedly engaging in sexual acts with a minor, police said.

Douglas Le, 27, allegedly met a minor on the “Grindr” dating application with the intent of having a sexual relationship in September.

Police said Le knew the victim was underage after meeting them on the application, but continued soliciting sex. He was arrested Oct. 16 at his home in Campbell and booked into the county jail on suspicion of two counts of sodomy, two counts of contacting a minor for sex and two counts of arranging to meet with a minor for sexual gratification.

Le is currently on parole after being convicted for sex crimes while working as a teacher in 2016. He was convicted for persuading victims to send harmful or sexual content over the internet by pretending to be a woman.

A lawsuit was filed against Gilroy Unified School District on behalf of a 15-year-old Gilroy High School student and her mother in 2016.

Attorney Gloria Allred argued the district hadn’t done enough to protect their students from Le’s “catfishing,” or luring victims through fictional online accounts. Police said Oct. 19 that they are concerned Le may have been involved with other people due to his suspected repeat offense and “prevalence on social media platforms.”

“We applaud the victim for coming forward and encourage others with similar encounters to do the same,” police Capt. Gary Berg said in a statement.

Anyone who has more information is asked to call police at (408) 871-5190.