A New Mexico school employee already had several charges of criminal sexual contact, and now, more students are coming forward.
Robert Apodaca, a former employee at Gonzales Community School in Santa Fe, was charged with three counts of criminal sexual contact with a minor in 2019, KRQE reported.
"We were notified of additional victims once the original story came out that Mr. Apodaca had been arrested," said Attorney Paul Linnenburger.
After the allegations at Gonzalez Community School, Apodaca moved to Santo Niño Regional Catholic School, where the new allegations stem from. A school employee allegedly witnessed inappropriate behavior between Apodaca and a student and, instead of reporting it to the police, decided to "pray on it," according to the station.
Apodaca was released on bond last week, KRQE reported, and is accused of molesting two boys who were about 8 years old and sexually assaulting a 14-year-old boy. Linnenburger, a prosecuting attorney, says he wants to change the culture in schools by ensuring procedures are implemented to create oversight in the classroom where educators are in a position to take advantage of children.