Trial on charges of student abuse begins
Prosecution says speech and debate coach preyed on teen
A former Rio Grande High School educational assistant is on trial this week on charges that he sexually abused a 17-year-old member of the speech and debate team, which he coached.
Luis Chavez, 36, was fired after allegations against him first surfaced in late April. He faces 10 felony counts during his trial before 2nd Judicial District Judge Stan Whitaker.
Prosecutor Brianne Bigej said during opening statements Tuesday afternoon that the abuse took place in 2014, and that the alleged victim would tell jurors about the tournaments the speech and debate team participated in.
“(He) will recount for you how at these
tournaments, during periods of downtime in empty classrooms, the defendant would prey on him,” Bigej said. “And (he) will tell you how when he sought guidance and reassurance from the defendant, his coach, when he was disappointed with his performance at the tournaments, he will tell you that the defendant betrayed that relationship with him.”
Chavez’s defense attorney, Buck Glanz, told jurors they would learn plenty about speech and debate, “probably a lot more than you ever wanted to” but that evidence in the case was scant.
“There won’t be any DNA evidence, there won’t be any surveillance footage, there won’t be fingerprints,” Glanz said. “There won’t be any evidence, really, except for (the student’s) account.
And he said there would be no evidence to corroborate or support that account. In the absence of that evidence, Glanz said, he was confident the jury would acquit Chavez.
Bigej told jurors the teen reported the abuse after he graduated from Rio Grande, and because of that delayed disclosure, there was no DNA evidence.
Chavez was originally accused of having an inappropriate relationship with another student. But the second case against him was dismissed by prosecutors who said they needed additional evidence, according to court documents. It can be refiled.