‘I want to sneak into your room’: Berkeley teacher’s alleged grooming of student

BERKELEY — To most students at Bayhill High he was “Mr. Hoopes,” a band teacher in his late 40s.

But to one student, Jason Hoopes was “Red40,” a nickname saved in the teen’s phone where the two exchanged sexually explicit communications between meeting in person outside of school several times over 2025, according to police. When the child’s father reported finding the texts, Hoopes was charged with 23 felonies related to alleged sexual abuse or arranging lewd meetings with the student, who is referred to in court records only as “Doe.”

New court filings have detailed the alleged sexual abuse, from the violent sexual fantasies allegedly espoused by Hoopes to his suicide attempt after finding out he was under investigation. Now, Hoopes, 49, of El Cerrito, is in jail with bail set at $495,