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# Misdemeanor Case Against Ex-Ukiah Teacher LaFever Inches Toward a Disposition
- URL: https://www.mendolocal.news/misdemeanor-case-against-ex-ukiah-teacher-lafever-inches-toward-a-disposition/
- Published: 2026-11-06T05:14:05.000Z
- Updated: 2026-11-06T15:36:33.000Z
- Description: Former Ukiah High teacher and MendoFever publisher Matthew LaFever's misdemeanor case was continued to Nov. 19 for a possible disposition.
- Author: Elise Cox
- Tags: Ukiah, News

UKIAH, Calif. — A misdemeanor case against Matthew LaFever, the former Ukiah High School journalism teacher who published the now-shuttered news site MendoFever, is moving toward a possible resolution nearly a year after his arrest.

At a brief setting hearing Nov. 4 in Mendocino County Superior Court, defense attorney Orchid Vaghti told Judge Charlotte Scott that both sides had just received outstanding discovery in the case. The parties agreed to return Nov. 19 for what they described as a potential disposition, and the judge continued the matter to that date. LaFever did not appear; state law lets a misdemeanor defendant appear through counsel.

LaFever, 38, faces a single misdemeanor count of annoying or molesting a child under 18 (Penal Code section 647.6(a)(1)). He was arrested by Ukiah police in November 2025, charged in April 2026, and has pleaded not guilty. He was released on his own recognizance and remains free; no trial date is set.

The case has drawn attention beyond the single charge. Because LaFever was a working journalist, the court appointed a special master to screen [material seized from his devices ](https://www.mendolocal.news/search-warrant-released-in-minor-molestation-case/)for press-protected, unpublished newsgathering information, and District Attorney David Eyster recused his himself, citing LaFever's past coverage of him.

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*Correction: The story was updated to reflect that District Attorney David Eyster personally recused himself, not his office. (6:33 a.m. November 6,2026)*