A 21-year-old attendance clerk at Lawrence Intermediate School is facing criminal charges after investigators discovered h e may have been involved in an inappropriate sexual relationship with a 15-year-old boy for several months.
Juan F. Esquivias was arrested March 4 on suspicion of sexual conduct with a minor and aggravated luring, said Pima County Sheriff's Deputy Thomas Peine.
On Feb. 28, a friend of the 15-year-old boy told officials at the Tucson Unified School District he had seen a pornographic picture on his friend's Facebook page of a man wearing a TUSD identification badge. He also reported he had seen a request for the boy to send the man in the picture some "nudes," according to a search warrant affidavit filed in Pima County Superior Court.
A school safety investigator recognized the pattern of the tile floor from a Lawrence Intermediate School restroom. The school is located at 4850 W. Jeffrey Road on the city's southwest side.
In interviews with detectives, the boy - who is not a TUSD student - said he engaged in sexual acts with Esquivias in front of the boy's house, during a drive to Gates Pass and several times in a park located near Sunnyside High School.
Detectives also have messages from Esquivias to the boy asking him to have sex with him, court documents state.
Esquivias corroborated the boy's story, saying he knew the boy was only 15, but thought he was "cute," according to court documents.
Court documents indicate the two engaged in the sexual conduct between May 2012 and September 2012, but continued to contact each other on Facebook until Feb. 26.
Cara Rene, TUSD's communications director, said as soon as the district learned about the investigation, Esquivias was assigned to his home and no longer allowed contact with any students. He has since been terminated from his job, she said in a email.
Contact reporter Kim Smith at 573-4241 or kimsmith@azstarnet.com
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