Suits Alleges Security Assistant Groped 3 Boys at Cleveland High School »Albuquerque Journal

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Copyright 2021 Albuquerque Journal

Lawsuits in state and federal courts allege that a security guard at V. Sue Cleveland High School groped three students under the pretext of searching for boys for contraband.

The three lawsuits, all brought against Rio Rancho public schools on behalf of three boys, allege that George Archuleta inappropriately touched each of the students on multiple occasions.

Archuleta has denied the allegations, according to a response to one of the lawsuits in U.S. District Court in Albuquerque.

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Archuleta’s attorney, Carlos Quiones of Santa Fe, did not immediately respond to voicemail and email messages seeking comment on Friday.

The lawsuits were filed by the parents of current and former Cleveland High students on behalf of their sons.

Beth Pendergrass, spokesperson for Rio Rancho Public Schools, said the district is not commenting on pending litigation.

She admitted that Archuleta worked for the district from September 2009 until March 2020, the month the first lawsuit was filed.

Jerry Walz, a school district attorney, said on Friday he could not comment on a pending case.

The three lawsuits were filed in the State Court of the 13th Judicial District Court, which covers the counties of Sandoval, Cibola and Valencia, between March 15 and June 29.

The original trial was transferred to U.S. District Court in May. The other two lawsuits remained in state court on Friday.

All three lawsuits allege Archuleta groped the boys during alleged contraband searches.

Todd Bullion, one of three lawyers representing the boys and their parents, said the RRPS has a policy that allows security guards to search students suspected of possessing drugs or weapons. But Archuleta had no reason to believe that any of the boys possessed contraband, he said.

“There was no reason to search any of these children,” Bullion said Friday.

The lawsuits allege that no contraband was found during the searches. The prosecutions also argue that the searches were illegal because Archuleta had no reason to believe the boys possessed contraband.

As Archuleta’s employer, the district was responsible for its conduct and had a duty to keep students safe at school, the lawsuits say. The lawsuits seek unspecified compensatory and punitive damages.

The original lawsuit, filed on March 15 on behalf of a grade 11 student at Cleveland High, alleges the boy was in ninth and tenth when Archuleta inappropriately groped him during alleged searches.

One of these searches would have taken place in an “isolated room”, according to the prosecution.

The second complaint, filed on June 10, alleges that at least three times between August 2019 and March 2020, Archuleta put his hands in the boy’s pockets and fiddled with him.

The third complaint, filed on June 29, alleges that Archuleta fondled the boy “on several dates” between January 2019 and June 2021.

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