Plea deal still being offered in former high school guard accused of sexual conduct with student

A recent hearing in Yuma County Superior Court for the former female security guard at San Luis High School accused of having sexual contact with a 15-year-old male student had to be rescheduled again while the terms of a plea agreement are finalized.

In asking for a 30-day continuance on July 22, Lizbeth Gomez-Coronel’s attorney, Cynthia Brubaker, of the Yuma County Public Defender’s Office, explained to the court that she and the prosecution have made some revision to the original plea agreement, but she has not received a written copy of it.

Brubaker said she had recently spoken to the prosecutor, and he told her he would be sending the plea offer to her soon, adding that she did not know what the final terms would be.

Gomez-Coronel, who is out of custody and was not present at the hearing because her appearance had been waived, has been charged with three felony offenses.

Those charges are one count of sexual exploitation of a minor and two counts of sexual conduct with a minor.

After hearing from both counsels, Superior Court Judge David Haws granted Brubaker’s request and scheduled Gomez-Coronel’s next appearance for 8:30 a.m. Aug. 19 for a change-of-plea or trial setting hearing.

According to San Luis police, Gomez-Coronel was arrested at her residence in August 2019. While police did not go into specific details due to the investigation, they said the alleged sexual conduct was reported on the same day to the school, which then contacted San Luis police. In an official statement released at the time to its Facebook page, the Yuma Union High School District posted that pursuant to Arizona law, and in consultation with legal counsel, the district had taken immediate action to terminate employment for Gomez-Coronel. The Yuma Union High School District confirmed that Gomez-Coronel had worked at the school for two years.