Lawyer warns parents of school sexual misconduct
The attorney representing the alleged 14 year-old female victim of sexual misconduct involving a music teacher at Desert Ridge Academy spoke out to KESQ/CBS Local 2 — criticizing the Desert Sands Unified School District for not enforcing policy standards or monitoring student-staff relationships.
Music teacher Ruben Flores, 29, was arrested in May and accused of having sex with his 14 year-old female student and nine other felony counts.
The allegations surfaced when the mother of that child found suggestive text messages on her daughter’s cellphone with Flores. The teacher has since been on administrative leave.
Attorney John Jimenez who is representing the alleged victim raised concerns about Desert Sands Unified School District’s policies, saying this incident could have been prevented. He warns parents to closely watch their students cellphone activity and bring about any concerns to school staff.
Jimenez also expressed concern that the teacher is still on social media online and could be in contact with other students.
Jimenez said teachers should be monitored in how they communicate with students, suggesting teachers only use a district-monitored app if staff needs to communicate with students via text message.
The lawyers representing the 14 year-old filed a claim against the district last week, which is the first step in a lawsuit against the district. The school district declined to comment on that claim.
