A former Encinitas middle school employee accused of molesting a 12-year-old student sent text messages to “several” students and asked them to delete the messages to avoid trouble, a prosecutor said Wednesday.
These details emerged as Omar Hernandez Galeana was arraigned in Vista Superior Court on several charges, including two counts of aggravated sexual assault of a child under 14 years old. Each of these two counts carries a potential sentence of 15 years to life in prison.
Galeana, 21, has pleaded not guilty to a total of 12 charges, including criminal charges of forcible lewd acts on a child and furnishing cannabis to a minor. He is also charged with the misdemeanor count of contributing to the delinquency of a minor.
The criminal complaint alleges the incidents occurred over the weekend. Galeana, a supervisor at the Diegueño college campus, was arrested on Sunday.
According to the prosecutor, there are two alleged victims, although only one is named as a victim in the charges related to the sexual assaults. The two alleged victims are 12 years old and both middle school students in the town’s Olivenhain community.
At Galeana’s arraignment, Assistant District Attorney Nereida Bowman asked that he be held without bail, citing public safety and the potential risk of flight given that two of the charges carry a possible sentence as long. “People have very serious concerns about this defendant,” Bowman said.
Bowman said Galeana contacted “multiple minors” through WhatsApp, a messaging app.
“In this case, he was communicating regularly with these juveniles and asking them to delete their text messages because he was at risk of going to jail,” Bowman said.
“Additionally, the information we have from this investigation indicates that the defendant is very, very friendly with many other juveniles located at this college,” she said.
Galeana’s attorney was not present during the arraignment, but another attorney appeared on her behalf. That attorney highlighted the “unsubstantiated nature” of the prosecutor’s allegations and argued that a court order directing Galeana to stay away from the two alleged victims might be enough.
Judge Francisco Sanchez ordered Galeana held in jail without bail, finding “no condition or combination of conditions less restrictive to protect the safety of the public.”
The superintendent of the San Dieguito Unified School District said earlier this week that she learned of the allegations and investigation on Sunday. She said Galeana had been working at the school for three months. As of Monday, he was no longer employed at the school, she said.
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