OMHS teacher charged after students allege sexual assault
This article discusses sexual assault and suicide. If you or someone you know experiences sexual violence, you can find local support via La Piñon's 24-Hour Crisis Hotline at 575-526-3437 or go to www.lapinon.org.
LAS CRUCES - An Organ Mountain High School teacher faces charges after a student came forward with sexual assault allegations.
Valentino "Tino" Leyba, 40, faces one count of criminal sexual contact of a minor as a school employee. Leyba also faces two counts of contributing to the delinquency of a minor. All three charges stem from an incident in September 2022.
A Las Cruces Public Schools spokesperson confirmed the district placed Leyba on administrative leave in December 2022. According to the Royal Knight Regiment Band's website, Leyba has worked as the Associate Director of Bands and Director of Percussion Studies at OMHS for ten years.
According to the criminal complaint, Doña Ana County Sheriff's Office Detective Mark Rodriguez was notified about the allegations by the OMHS student resource officer.
Rodriguez wrote in a criminal complaint that three high school students were doing yard work for Leyba the day of the incident. Leyba agreed to pay the boys $50 in exchange for cleaning his yard, Rodriguez said.
Leyba set off to a grocery store as the boys worked on his yard. He asked the boys if they wanted anything. The boys told Leyba to bring back beer.
All three boys told investigators they were joking and did not think Leyba would return with alcohol, according to Rodriguez's affidavit. However, Leyba did bring the boys' beer, margarita mix and alcohol shooters, according to the boys' statements.
Leyba confirmed to Rodriguez that he did supply the boys with beer. However, he said he didn't recall buying margarita mix or shooters. Shortly after, one of the boys became intoxicated.
The boy told investigators that Leyba slapped his butt, then attempted to molest him in front of his friend while he played an instrument.
The boy told his friend, "we need to get the (expletive) out of here," according to the criminal complaint, before they left.
Leyba denied touching the boy and denied attempting to molest him.
Court records show that Leyba was released from jail after his arrest. However, a court ordered Leyba not to contact the boys and to stay away from the OMHS campus.
If convicted, Lebya faces up to four and half years in prison for the three charges.
Justin Garcia covers crime, courts and public safety. He can be reached via email at JEGarcia@lcsun-news.com.
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This article originally appeared on Las Cruces Sun-News: OMHS teacher charged after students allege sexual assault
