Gilroy High School teacher accused of 'catfishing,' enticing minors to send illicit photos

SAN JOSE, Calif. (KGO) -- A well-liked Gilroy High School teacher is accused of catfishing, using a fake online persona to lure someone into a relationship.

Police say in this case, Douglas Le catfished minors and received illicit photos from them.

Le lives in San Jose but teaches in Gilroy, and that's where police took him into custody.

Le was teaching honors chemistry when he got a phone call, then abruptly left the room. Students didn't know what to think.

Turned out, police had showed up at Gilroy High School to question Le whom they arrested for two felony counts of child enticement.

"It's the news of the school," said student Justin Diaz.

Students are shocked. They're having a hard time believing that their science teacher is accused of posing as a female on social media, where he allegedly convinced minors to send illicit photos of themselves.

"He's a good teacher, he goes into depth on things, he explains things well. I think he's a good teacher. I didn't see anything wrong with him," Diaz said.

It's unclear if the minors Le allegedly contacted were Gilroy High School students. Students say Le may have made an off-color remark or two, but nothing that led them to believe he would do anything criminal.

"I personally don't think he did it because he's too much of a smart guy to actually do a crime like that," said student Leylanie Arriaga.

Le is 25-years-old. He graduated from the University of California Berkeley four years ago, then got his teaching degree at Brown University a year later.

The Gilroy Unified School District says Le has been placed on paid administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigation.