Ex-teacher accused of molestation faces trial
Gregor was expected to accept plea deal, but rejected offer for 2nd time
A former school teacher accused of molesting students was scheduled to take a plea bargain Monday, but for a second time rejected a deal offered by New Mexico Attorney General Hector Balderas.
Gary Gregor, his accusers, attorneys and news media representatives packed the Santa Fe courtroom of District Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer in anticipation of Gregor entering a plea, but after he rejected the deal, the judge told Gregor she would see him again in January, adding “and you are going to trial.”
The Santa Fe school district hired the 61-yearold as a teacher about two decades ago despite a trail of molestation accusations that followed him here from other states. He later transferred to Española, where he was accused of molesting multiple elementary school girls.
Balderas said after Monday’s hearing the deal his office offered Gregor exposed him to a possible sentence of 51 years in prison. If convicted on all the counts against him, he faces a maximum penalty of 165 years in jail. Gregor also rejected a plea deal last month. Balderas spokesman James Hallinan declined to say what, if anything, was different about the two plea offers.
Taking the case to trial means girls he is accused of molesting will be required to testify against Gregor.
Gregor had been a teacher since the mid-1980s. According to a civil complaint filed in U.S. District Court by the parents of one of his alleged victims in Española, he was first accused of sexual misconduct in Utah in 1994 and then worked in Montana, where he was also fired after facing allegations of inappropriate behavior.
He was hired in Santa Fe as a special-education teacher at Ortiz Middle School for the 2000-01 school year, but got negative evaluations there and was not recommended for rehire, according to the civil complaint. The next year, he was hired to teach fourth grade at Agua Fría Elementary School, which has since shut down. During a class field trip to a Santa Fe museum in 2004, museum docents reported to his superiors that they witnessed inappropriate touching between Gregor and his students.
However, no report was made to police and when he agreed to resign without a formal hearing, district officials agreed to provide a neutral recommendation for him to any future employer.
Española Public Schools hired Gregor in 2005. He first taught at Mountain View Elementary School in Truchas. When concerns were raised there, he was transferred to Fairview Elementary School in Española, and it was there during the 2007-08 school year that Gregor allegedly committed the crimes for which he now is charged.
It wasn’t until after a parent went to police in 2009 that the state Public Education Department revoked Gregor’s license.
Balderas said Monday that Gregor was allowed to continue working for years in New Mexico schools even after concerns were raised because of “systemic failures” at various agencies.
The New Mexico Public Schools Insurance Authority has paid $7.5 million to settle two lawsuits brought on behalf of plaintiffs who say Gregor molested them.