A high school drug and alcohol counselor turned himself into police after detectives found 14 videos of students having sex in his office that he allegedly secretly recorded during school hours.
Gilbert Olivares, a ‘hip’ teacher who often volunteered to chaperone school dances, was first arrested last week on charges he inappropriately touched a 14-year-old male student at Salinas High School in California.
'Hip teacher': Gilbert Olivares, 34, often volunteered to chaperone school dances.
Olivares, 34, used a hidden cell phone camera to tape the sexual encounters between students while he was out of his office. It’s unclear how or why the students had access to the room, but they seemed unaware they were being recorded.
Several possible victims have come forward to police.
Detectives plan to search thousands of computer files on four computers used by Olivares. Officials say it’s likely that more sex and child pornography charges will be added.
‘There’s a lot of pornography that is child pornography,’ police spokesman Sgt Chris Lane said.
Olivares, who is being held at the Monterey County Jail on $1 million bail, had worked for Sunrise House, an organization that counsels teens on substance abuse.
He was not an employee of the Salinas Union High School District, although he worked at the high school for five years.
Sunrise House declined to comment until the legal process is over, said executive director Jim Rear. A message left at the jail was not immediately returned Wednesday.
In statement, Principal Sascha Heckmann and district officials said they are ‘deeply saddened’ by the news and are taking action to ensure student safety.
The district is cooperating with the investigation, and Olivares will not be allowed back on any district campus, they said.
Olivares was a prominent volunteer in the community, working with the anti-gang program and other local groups.
He was popular and well-liked among the high schools students and was only caught in after the parents of his first alleged victim, the boy he is accused of touching, saw a suspicious exchange on Facebook.
Source: DailyMail
