New details emerge in case of middle-school staffer charged with molesting 12-year-old student

A now former Encinitas middle school employee accused of molesting a 12-year-old student had texted with "multiple" students and asked them to delete the messages so he would stay out of trouble, a prosecutor said Wednesday.

Those details emerged when Omar Hernandez Galeana was arraigned in Vista Superior Court on several charges, including two counts of aggravated sexual assault of a child under 14 years old. Each of those two counts carries a potential sentence of 15 years to life in prison.

Galeana, 21, pleaded not guilty to a total of 12 charges, including felony charges of forcible lewd acts on a child and furnishing cannabis to a minor. He is also charged with misdemeanor counts of contributing to the delinquency of a minor.

The criminal complaint alleges the incidents occurred over the weekend. Galeana, a campus supervisor at Diegueño Middle School, was arrested Sunday.

According to the prosecutor, there are two alleged victims, although only one is named as a victim in the molestation-related charges. Both alleged victims are 12 years old, and both are students at the middle school in the city's Olivenhain community.

During Galeana's arraignment, Deputy District Attorney Nereida Bowman asked that he be held without bail, citing public safety and the potential that he is a flight risk given that two of the charges carry such a lengthy sentence. "The people have very serious concerns about this defendant," Bowman said.

Bowman said Galeana had reached out to "multiple juveniles" through WhatsApp, a messaging app.

"In this case, he routinely communicated with those juveniles and would ask them to delete their text messages because he could potentially go to prison," Bowman said.

"Additionally, information that we have as part of this investigation is that the defendant is very, very friendly with a lot of other minors located at this middle school," she said.

Galeana's attorney was not present at the arraignment, rather another attorney appeared on her behalf. That attorney pointed to the "unsupported nature" of the prosecutor's allegations and argued that a court order that Galeana stay away from the two alleged victims could suffice.

Judge Francisco Sanchez ordered Galeana be held in jail without bail, finding "no less restrictive conditions or combination of conditions to protect the safety of the public."

San Dieguito Unified High School District's superintendent said earlier this week that she learned of the allegations and investigation Sunday. She said Galeana had worked at the school for three months. As of Monday, he was no longer employed at the school, she said.

This story originally appeared in San Diego Union-Tribune .