A teacher and avowed communist who named himself after an Egyptian god successfully pushed a woke curriculum on the very district that would later fire him over his conduct with a student.
Matef Harmachis, whose original name is Leigh Barker, was convicted of battery in 2017 for an incident that occurred against a female student in his
classroom, then spent years on paid disciplinary leave before finally being fired.
But before he was fired, he successfully lobbied the Santa Barbara board of education to require all students to take courses in ethnic studies, a branch of critical race theory. His effort to radicalize the curriculum came despite being accused of groping and biting the female student, threatening and grabbing others, and preaching his toxic brand of socialism from in front of the blackboard.
“He would hug me all the time,” said the female student, who The Daily Wire is referring to as “Maria” in order to protect her identity. Over time, the unwelcome hugs became longer and tighter, and he asked Maria to call him “daddy,” she said.
Inside the classroom where Mr. Harmachis held court, pictures of Che Guevara and Fidel Castro dotted the walls, according to Maria, who recalled that Mr. Harmachis was “very open” about his support for communism.
Mr. Harmachis was also open about sex and birth control with his students, Maria said. He offered massages to female students, made sexual noises, and once told his history class “I could have sex with any of the girls here,” according to Maria.
On May 4, 2017, Mr. Harmachis grabbed Maria’s buttocks during class, bit her ear, and made explicit sexual statements, she said. When she reported him, the school principal told her “four other women” had previously come forward with sexual allegations against Mr. Harmachis, she said.