Content warning: this story contains allegations of sexual activity involving a minor.
DEMING – Prosecutors have filed a motion asking a court to keep a Deming middle-school mariachi teacher in custody after he was arrested on allegations that he had a sexual relationship with a 14-year-old student, according to a criminal complaint and court filings provided to the Albuquerque Journal.
The complaint identifies the teacher as 38-year-old Gerard Flores, who teaches the mariachi band program at Red Mountain Middle School. Flores was charged with criminal sexual penetration (force or coercion), two counts of criminal sexual penetration (school employee) and two counts of criminal sexual contact of a minor (school personnel), court documents show.
Police say they were alerted after receiving a call in which the 14-year-old reported an “intimate relationship with her mariachi teacher.” The complaint alleges the relationship began last February, when the student was finishing eighth grade, after she approached Flores because she felt lonely and had no one to confide in. Investigators allege the pair grew close during the after-school program and that encounters later occurred during class and after-school sessions.
According to the complaint, the relationship started with repeated kissing and progressed to sexual intercourse on multiple occasions, including about a week before the student reported the matter to police. The documents also allege frequent calls and texts, expressions of affection from Flores, and gifts that included earrings, a stuffed animal and a sex toy said to have been given at school. The complaint further alleges plans were discussed for a mariachi band in El Paso and that Flores told the student he had purchased a hotel room for a trip.
Deming Public Schools confirmed the staff member has been placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of a formal investigation. “The district takes these matters very seriously and is fully cooperating with the appropriate authorities. As always, our highest priority is the safety and well-being of our students,” spokesperson Jessica Etcheverry said in a statement.
In a pretrial filing, prosecutors urged the court to deny release while the case proceeds, writing that crimes against children in a school environment are among the most egregious offenses and warrant continued detention pending further proceedings.
Flores remains in custody and has not entered a plea. As with any criminal matter, the allegations in the complaint have not been proven in court.
(Information in this story was drawn from the Albuquerque Journal report and the criminal complaint cited therein.)