Former CVUSD security director busted in prostitution sting pleads not guilty
An Indio man suspected of attempting to beckon the services of a prostitute while employed as the security director of the Coachella Valley Unified School District pleaded not guilty to a misdemeanor charge and is due back in court next month.
Adam Sambrano Jr., 40, was arrested on Jan. 27 during a sting operation and later charged with one misdemeanor prostitution solicitation count.
Sambrano was arraigned Tuesday at the Larson Justice Center in Indio. The hearing was initially scheduled for Thursday, but was held earlier for unknown reasons.
Riverside County Superior Court Judge Otis Sterling scheduled an Aug. 12 pretrial hearing, and allowed the defendant to remain out of custody on his own recognizance.
The Coachella Valley Unified School District announced in April that Sambrano was no longer employed by the district.
At the time of Sambrano's arrest, district officials announced that he had been placed on administrative leave.
"The district takes allegations of this nature very seriously and is committed to ensuring the continued safety and well-being of its students and staff," district spokeswoman Lissette Santiago said in a statement. "Mr. Sambrano was released from his probationary employment with the district as the director of security, effective March 26, 2021.''
Santiago did not provide additional information about the circumstances surrounding the decision.
The defendant could not be reached for comment.
Sambrano, who has no documented felony convictions in Riverside County, was one of 64 people taken into custody during "Operation Reclaim & Rebuild.''
He was arrested at an unspecified location on Gerald Ford Drive in Palm Desert.
Riverside County's Anti-Human Trafficking Task Force joined other agencies across the county with the goal of cracking down on suspects involved in prostitution rings and escort services, as well as rescuing the victims.
The series of law enforcement operations included arrests in La Quinta, Lake Elsinore, Murrieta, Palm Desert, Riverside and Temecula. Authorities placed decoy advertisements on websites popularly used for soliciting prostitution. Prospective customers who responded to the ads were actually communicating with law enforcement personnel.
In all, 62 people were arrested on suspicion of soliciting prostitution, while one person was arrested on suspicion of lewd purposes, and another for allegedly aiding a person to commit prostitution, sheriff's officials said.
A Riverside County District Attorney's Office investigator was also among the group arrested for allegedly soliciting prostitution, the Desert Sun reported.
The California Attorney General's Office charged Bryan James Gaboury, 45, of Chino with one count each of soliciting prostitution and embezzling public property, alleging he drove a county-owned vehicle to the meet-up.
