A substitute teacher and ROTC instructor at Mar Vista High School in Imperial Beach, who’s accused of having sex with an underage student, pleaded not guilty Tuesday to a pair of felony charges.
Martin Albert Gallegos, 48, faces nearly four years in prison if convicted of sexual penetration by a foreign object and oral copulation of a person under 18.
Gallegos, who remains free on $50,000 bail, will be back in court May 31 for a readiness conference and June 14 for a preliminary hearing.
He was arrested April 9, one day after a campus police officer got a report about the alleged crimes, said sheriff’s Lt. Dan Brislin.
The alleged victim is a 17-year-old senior at the Elm Avenue school, authorities said. The alleged sexual assaults took place on Feb. 29 and March 5, according to the criminal complaint.
Gallegos worked for the Sweetwater Union High School District since last fall, filling in periodically for full-time teachers, according to SUHSD spokesman Manny Rubio.
Gallegos is one of three people who worked at Mar Vista High School who were charged recently with having sex with underage students.
–City News Service
