Preliminary hearing scheduled for former teachers

A preliminary hearing for two former teachers charged with having sexual relations with a 17-year-old boy has been scheduled for March 8.

Former Westminster High School teacher Daniel Shepard and his wife, former Mesa View Middle School teacher Gay Davidson-Shepard, pleaded not guilty in June to multiple felony counts, including oral copulation of a minor, sodomy of a person younger than 18 and contributing to the delinquency of a minor.

The couple is accused of inviting a male Westminster High student to their Huntington Beach home starting in March 2009 to drink alcohol, eat, play board games and watch movies, then starting a sexual relationship with him.

Davidson-Shepard faces an additional misdemeanor charge of violating a protective order after she allegedly contacted the former student.

Before the preliminary hearing, which will determine whether there is enough evidence for Shepard and Davidson-Shepard to go to trial, the couple are scheduled for a pretrial hearing on Feb. 2.

—Michael Miller

Twitter: @MichaelMillerHB