APS staffer accused of offering girl cash for sex

District says teen not APS student

An Albuquerque Public Schools maintenance worker is accused of offering a teen girl $500 in exchange for sex, according to court documents.

Bryan Apodaca, 43, sent a series of text messages Wednesday evening to a 16-year-old girl who is not an APS student, according to a criminal complaint filed Friday. He is charged with promoting prostitution and contributing to the delinquency of a minor.

“I will Give you $500.00,” one of Apodaca’s messages read, according to the complaint.

“Can i be with you one time, don’t say nothing,” he wrote in another.

“No...you’re scaring me, don’t say that,” the girl responded.

Later she told him “I’m a little girl.”

Police were called on Thursday to an Albuquerque charter school, where the teen shared the text messages with an officer. A third person was able to confirm the messages were sent from Apodaca’s number.

The teen told police that she interpreted Apodaca’s messages to mean that he wanted to have sex with her in exchange for money, according to the complaint.

During a court appearance Saturday, Apodaca said the allegations were “completely false.”

Monica Armenta, APS spokeswoman, said that Apodaca is a custodian coordinator who is not based in a particular school, though she said it would not be unusual to find him on a school campus. She said he is on paid leave while his criminal case is pending.

She emphasized that the child is not an APS student and the alleged incident did not happen while Apodaca was on the clock.