A former Navy Junior ROTC instructor pleaded not guilty on Tuesday to charges that he had a sexual relationship with a 17-year-old student.
Martin Albert Gallegos, 48, appeared in a San Diego County courtroom to face one count of sexual penetration with a foreign object and one count of oral copulation of a minor.
Gallegos, a former ROTC instructor at Mar Vista High School, was arrested April 9 after investigators said the relationship had allegedly been going on for months.
A Sheriff’s School Resource Officer received a tip the day before that a teacher at the high school was in a relationship with a female student. That information led deputies to Gallegos.
District officials said Gallegos is a first-year substitute in the district who was fired immediately.
Gallegos’ arrest was among three arrests linked to the Imperial Beach school that alleged sex assault of a minor.
Gallegos is free after posting $50,000 bond.
