San Jose assistant principal charged with attempted sex trafficking, enticing minor
By Tim Fang
A former assistant principal at a middle school in the San Francisco Bay Area who was arrested in an operation targeting adults seeking minors for sex has been indicted on federal charges, prosecutors said.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office, Northern District of California announced that 32-year-old Ruben Guzman of San Jose was arraigned in federal court Wednesday. Guzman was arraigned on charges of attempted sex trafficking of a minor and attempted coercion and enticement of a minor.
According to the indictment, Guzman allegedly attempted to engage in a commercial sex act with a person he believed to be under 14. The indictment also alleges Guzman attempted to engage in sexual activities with a person he believed was under 18.
Guzman, a former assistant principal at Sunrise Middle School in San Jose, was among 11 people arrested in a San Jose police operation earlier this year. The operation was targeting child exploitation and human trafficking ahead of Super Bowl LX, which was held at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara in February.
According to San Jose police, Guzman communicated with someone he believed was a 13-year-old boy on Feb. 3, telling him he wanted to engage in sex acts and offered money in exchange. Guzman arranged to pick up the boy in San Jose and was taken into custody when he arrived at the location.
During a search of the vehicle, officers said they found “items consistent with the planned encounter.” Guzman was arrested and booked into jail on suspicion of communicating with a minor for sex.
Following Guzman’s arrest, the director of Sunrise Middle School told CBS News Bay Area that police informed the school on the day of the arrest, that the allegations “did not involve our school” and that there was no information indicating students at Sunrise were involved.
“The individual was removed from campus right away and will have no further contact with students,” said director Teresa Robinson.
After Wednesday’s hearing, Guzman was remanded into custody of the U.S. Marshals Service, prosecutors said.
If convicted, Guzman faces a maximum sentence of life in prison. Prosecutors said the attempted sex trafficking of a minor charge carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years and the attempted coercion and enticement of a minor carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years.
Guzman also faces a fine of up to $250,000 and potential forfeiture of assets.
