A Gilroy High School math teacher who allegedly had sex with a 14-year-old was arraigned today on nine counts of sex crimes.
Morgan Hill resident Alberto Gomez Vicuna Jr., 32, performed multiple sex acts with a 14-year-old girl and faces a up to 10 years in state prison, said Deputy District Attorney Ray Mendoza of the Sexual Assault Unit. His bail was set at $2 million and he remains in police custody.
A plea hearing has been set for 2 p.m. March 5 in Department 23 of the Hall of Justice in San Jose.
However, Mendoza said he does not expect Vicuna to enter a plea at that time.
Vicuna was arrested Wednesday near his home in Morgan Hill after the girl's parents told police that Vicuna was having sex with a minor. The girl was not a GHS student but attended a high school in San Jose, Mendoza said. She met Vicuna through an Internet social networking site, Tagged.com.
In addition to the profile he maintained under his real name and age, Vicuna was also posing as a 15-year-old boy, Juan G, and had more than 100 female friends between the ages of 13 and 17 under that alias, Mendoza said. Consequently, Mendoza and police believe there may be more than just the one victim.
"We're trying to contact as many people as we can," Mendoza said. "Our concern is that there could be more victims out there."
Vicuna taught Algebra I in room P-5 at GHS, according to the school's Web site. He also tutored students on and off the GHS campus, police said.
The Gilroy Unified School District placed Vicuna on indefinite administrative leave, said Enrique Palacios, deputy superintendent. District staff would not discuss details of the leave or the case because they were confidential personnel matters, he said.
The police are conducting the investigation and any students that may come forward with complaints will be forwarded to police, said GHS Assistant Principal Stefani Garino.
A background check is conducted at the district level and Principal James Maxwell makes the final calls to references, Garino said. Teachers are not allowed to be in the classroom without first being fingerprinted, she said. Vicuna was not listed on either state or national sex offender Web sites.
Though it is not common to check a future employee's status on social networking sites like Facebook or MySpace, Garino said doing so might be necessary in the future. Maxwell referred all comments to district staff.
While some students said Vicuna was a good teacher who paid them extra attention, other said he favored girls at the expense of the class's male students.
"He was nice," said Desiree Rivera, a GHS sophomore. "He would mess around with us but not in a sexual way. I never felt uncomfortable."
But Rivera said Vicuna would often pay more attention to his female students, a habit that caused Jeannie White, the mother of a 14-year-old boy in Vicuna's class, to demand an answer.
"Every time the guys ask for an explanation in class, (Vicuna) focuses on the girls," White said.
She butted heads with Vicuna earlier in the year when her son wasn't getting the attention he needed, she said.
"If they have a pedophile on school grounds, I want to know if they're not doing a good enough background check," she said.
"A lot of teenagers don't look their age," said Barbara Rodriguez, a GHS junior. "Maybe the girl lied to him about her age. He's a good person."
Prosecutor Mendoza said the girl was truthful with Vicuna about her age.
If you have additional information on this case, you can call Detective Kendra Nunes or Detective Sgt. Randy Schriefer of the San Jose Police Dept's Child Exploitation Detail at 277-4102. Persons wishing to remain anonymous can call Crime Stoppers at 947-STOP.
Sara Suddes Sara Suddes is the education reporter for South Valley Newspapers. Send her an email or (408) 847-7158.
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