Sex with student among Rancho teacher’s charges

LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL

A Rancho High School history teacher was arrested Thursday on numerous charges, including having sex with a pupil, contributing to the delinquency of a minor and kidnapping.

Jason Lofthouse, 32, was arrested on the last day of the school to face four counts of sleeping with a student aged 16-17 years old, two counts of first-degree kidnapping involving sex and two counts of contributing to the delinquency of a minor, according to Clark County Detention Center records.

Lofthouse is being held without bail and is scheduled to appear in court this morning.

Las Vegas police could not be reached for more information Thursday night. The Clark County School District confirmed that the teacher had been arrested but could not provide further details.

Lofthouse has been at Rancho since at least 2010, the earliest year for which records are available for him on Transparent Nevada. Lofthouse taught advanced placement human geography and honors-level U.S. government, according to the high school’s website.

Lofthouse is the latest in a string of district employees to face charges for sex crimes in recent months.

The district attorney’s office has said music teacher Jeremiah Mazo, 54, inappropriately touched seven children on at least 32 occasions at a North Las Vegas elementary school. Mazo was arrested in April.

School bus driver Michael Banco, 55, was arrested in May and is accused of assaulting passengers as young as 3. Banco faces three counts of sexual assault against a child under the age of 14; eight counts of lewdness with a child under the age of 14; four counts of first-degree kidnapping and four counts of first-degree child abuse or neglect. Contact Wesley Juhl at wjuhl@reviewjournal.com and 702-383-0391. Find him on Twitter: @WesJuhl.