A California school aide faces up to five years in prison for admitting she had sex with a teen boy she met at a San Diego-area high school where she was contracted to work as a third-party employee.
Lisette Ortega Veles, 32, pleaded guilty to unlawfully engaging in sexual intercourse and oral copulation with a 17-year-old at Mar Vista High School on Thursday, NBC 7 San Diego reported, citing the district attorney’s office.
Police were called to the Imperial Beach campus on May 19 when they received reports of a student support aide having a sexual relationship with an underage male student, the San Diego County Sheriff’s Office said.
Investigators launched a probe and uncovered that Ortega’s twisted romance with the minor had spanned a year during off-campus incidents, finding probable cause to charge the aide, the outlet reported.
Detectives alleged Ortega tried to keep the student from telling anyone about the sexual assault, NBC 7 reported.
Ortega was a contracted student support aide working at the high school through third-party contractor Ro Health.
The company staffs schools, private nursing homes and other places with skilled mental health professionals and nurses.
On May 21, Ortega was arrested and charged with a slew of sex crimes related to her relationship with the minor.
She was charged with committing oral copulation with a victim under 18, unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor, where the minor is more than three years younger, arranging a meeting with a minor for the purposes of committing a lewd act, communicating with a minor with the intent to commit a lewd act and attempting to dissuade a victim.
She is scheduled to be sentenced on Oct. 29 in the South County Courthouse in Chula Vista, according to court records viewed by The Post.
She faces up to five years in state prison, according to the Times of San Diego.
Ortega’s plea deal did not include a stipulated sentencing and the judge will determine the guilty predator’s prison fate during the sentencing hearing.
Ro Health maintained their hiring standards, saying the company conducts “thorough background checks” including federal blueprint clearance.
“At Ro Health, safety is our top priority. It is our privilege to serve the medically fragile population, and we are committed to doing so with the highest degree of care. As such, we take these allegations extremely seriously. We are doing everything we can to investigate the issue and to respond appropriately,” the company told News 7 San Diego.
“We hold student safety as paramount to our mission. Ro Health has a Joint Commission approved employee screening process,” the company added.
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