Former Las Vegas teacher arrested and charged with rape
Jun. 24—A former Las Vegas, N.M., middle school teacher has been arrested by state agents on several counts of rape following an investigation into his alleged abuse of a 14-year-old student over several months in 2022.
Former Memorial Middle School teacher Leonard Romero, 28, faces five counts of rape of a minor by a school employee, one count of child solicitation by an electronic device and one count of contributing to the delinquency of a minor, according to a criminal complaint filed Friday in San Miguel County Magistrate Court.
Romero was arrested Friday at his Las Vegas residence by special agents from the state Department of Justice.
The state agency in April 2023 took over the Las Vegas Police Department's investigation into allegations Romero groomed and raped an eighth grade student several times in late 2022, according to an arrest warrant affidavit filed against Romero in the case.
Romero denied allegations he carried on a sexual relationship with the teen, police wrote.
Investigators found Snapchat messages between Romero and the girl and other evidence of the relationship after issuing search warrants on his home and his cellphone, the affidavit states.
Romero began working at the middle school as a teacher in August 2021, but was no longer employed at the school district during the investigation in early 2023, investigators wrote.
