Crime and Courts

Encinitas middle school employee arrested for sex assault of 12-year-old: SDSO

According to investigators with SDSO's Child Abuse Unit, someone reported that Galeana met the 12-year-old outside of school hours

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A campus supervisor at an Encinitas middle school was arrested for sexual assault after an off-campus encounter with a 12-year-old last Friday, according to the San Diego County Sheriff's Department.

Omar Hernandez Galeana, a 21-year-old campus supervisor at Diegueño Middle School, was taken into custody Sunday and faces two charges of lewd and ledacious acts with a child under 14 and employing a minor to sell marijuana.

According to investigators with SDSO's Child Abuse Unit, someone reported that Galeana met the 12-year-old outside of school hours, which prompted an immediate investigation. He was arrested on Sunday and is being held on $1 million bail. No other details would be provided due to the victim's age, SDSO said.

Galeana had been a campus supervisor for three months and was fired before a message to parents was sent out Monday morning by Anne Staffieri, Superintendent of the San Dieguito Union High School District.

"As always, we are committed to keeping parents and families informed whenever issues arise that may affect students," Staffieri wrote. "As this matter is part of an ongoing investigation, we are extremely limited in terms of the information we can share about the former employee and the allegations. This terribly unfortunate situation should not be a discussion on social media as that will not help law enforcement with their investigation, and it serves only to compromise the privacy of those involved."

According to a recent job posting from the district, a campus supervisor is a security personnel who ensures a secure environment within the campus boundaries. The position requires a successful background check post offer, the posting says.

Galeana's arrest marks the third arrest in a week of an employee with ties to San Diego County schools.

Stacey Michelle Walker, a former Mount Carmel High School teacher, was arrested Wednesday for alleged sexual acts with a student who was 15 when the years-long relationship began, according to San Diego police. The investigation began July 31 of last year, according to San Diego police, when the victim came forward to report that they had been sexually assaulted.

The same day, a top administrator at Hoover High School was arrested this week on suspicion of possessing child pornography and distributing lewd content to a minor, San Diego police said. Charles Thomas Boyd De Freitas was an associate principal who worked for the San Diego Unified School District for about 13 years.

Staffieri said the Diegueño Middle School administrative team will be visiting with classes to reinforce student safety. SDSO also encouraged students to report anything suspicious by reaching out to school resource deputies or calling the anonymous at the Students Speaking Out Hotline at (888) 580-8477.

Anyone with information about this particular case was asked to call the Sheriff’s Department at (858) 565-5200.

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