Substitute Teacher Pleads Guilty to Sexually Abusing Student

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A former substitute teacher who had worked at 20 Montgomery County Public Schools since the fall of 2013 has pleaded guilty to sexually abusing a student.

WTOP reports Jose Pineda, 50, appeared in court Monday to accept a plea deal. He pleaded guilty to sex abuse of a minor and third-degree sex offense.

Pineda faces up to five years in prison when he is sentenced May 29. WTOP says he is not a U.S. citizen, so Pineda could be deported to Honduras.

The Montgomery school system in November notified parents that it continued to look into the employment record of Pineda, the teacher who was arrested in October for inappropriate conduct at Roberto Clemente Middle School in Germantown.

School officials say the principals at these schools sent a letter home to make parents aware that Pineda worked in the school and ask them to report any information about inappropriate conduct to the police and school administrators.

A version of that letter and a list of the schools where Pineda worked are included here.

In November 2014, the school system said that some students at Ridgeview Middle School in Gaithersburg and Gaithersburg Elementary School reported they had interactions with Pineda that were inappropriate or made them feel uncomfortable. The parents of these students were consulted and police investigated the allegations.

Pineda had worked at Ridgeview Middle School for 29 days and Gaithersburg Elementary School for three days since the beginning of last school year.

In an announcement posted on its website, MCPS noted it will work with police to ensure that any reports of inappropriate conduct involving Pineda are investigated in a timely and thorough manner.

Families can also contact Montgomery County Police at 240-773-5400.

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