Diegueño Middle School employee arrested for suspected child sexual abuse
SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI) — An employee at Diegueño Middle School in Encinitas was arrested overnight Monday on suspicion of child sexual abuse and furnishing marijuana to a minor.
Campus supervisor Omar Hernandez Galeana, 21, was taken into custody by San Diego County Sheriff’s Child Abuse Unit deputies just after midnight stemming from an incident that happened on Friday, March 22, according to the department.
In a Tuesday release, the sheriff’s department said Galeana “met with a 12-year-old victim outside of school hours” at an undisclosed off-campus location where he is suspected of sexually assaulting them.
The incident was then reported to deputies at the North Coastal Sheriff’s Station, prompting the Child Abuse Unit to open an investigation. No additional details were released by the sheriff due to the victim’s status as a minor.
Jail logs indicate he could face two counts of lewd and lascivious acts with a child under the age of 14, as well as one count of employing a juvenile over 14 years old to sell marijuana. Galenana’s arraignment is scheduled for Friday.
In a letter to Diegueño Middle School families on Monday, San Dieguito Union High School District Superintendent Anne Staffieri said Galeana was an employee at the school for only three months and was fired shortly after his arrest.
“Please know that our primary concern is the safety of all students. We are taking this information seriously and cooperating with law enforcement in every way possible,” Staffieri said.
She also told parents they would be doing “everything possible to maintain our daily routine while supporting each other moving forward” and ensuring students are aware of “the importance of their voice as a part of our overall commitment to campus safety.”
Galenana marks the third educator to be accused of some form of child sexual abuse between three of the region’s largest school districts over the last week.
On Wednesday, a teacher at Mt. Carmel High School in the Poway Unified School District was arrested on suspicion of sexually assaulting a female student. She pleaded not guilty to 17 felony counts in court on Friday.
Also last Wednesday, the associate principal at Hoover High School in the San Diego Unified School District was taken into custody following a San Diego police investigation that found he allegedly sent and requested illicit messages from a minor on social media.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
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