La Quinta Teacher Ordered To Stand Trial

A La Quinta High School teacher has been ordered to stand trial on charges that he had sex with an underage student.

David Armenta will face three felony counts for alleged sexual conduct with a 17-year-old female student.

The teacher was put on administrative leave when school administrators were informed of the investigation, La Quinta High School principal Donna Salazar said at the time of Armenta’s Feb. 7 arrest.

Police came to the high school to interview Armenta around 11 a.m. Feb. 4 and he was sent home immediately after, she said.

Armenta’s teaching credential was suspended as of April 1, when the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office filed criminal charges, according to the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing online database.

Desert Sands Unified School District Assistant Superintendent Sherry Johnstone confirmed today that Armenta remains on administrative leave, but declined to say whether it was paid or unpaid.

After the criminal case is resolved, the school district will conduct its own investigation and make a determination about his status at La Quinta High School, where he is a 10th- and 11th-grade history teacher, Johnstone said.

“We don’t move forward until the police have finished their case,” she said. “(But) we have to protect everybody, in particular our students.”

Indio police were notified Feb. 4 that the alleged sexual activity had occurred in that city over a three-day period in January, and an investigation led to Armenta’s arrest at his home in the 47400 block of Bahama Court, Indio police spokesman Ben Guitron said.

Armenta has been free on bail since posting a $5,000 bond the day of his arrest. He is due back in court on April 15 for a felony settlement conference.