Two San Jose school employees are facing federal child sex crime cases, according to prosecutors with the Department of Justice.
Former Sunrise Middle School assistant principal Ruben Guzman, 32, was indicted Wednesday on charges of attempted sex trafficking, coercion and enticement of a minor, federal prosecutors announced. He was arraigned Wednesday and ordered into the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service. The FBI and San Jose Police Department investigated the case.
Prosecutors say he tried to pay for sex with someone he believed was younger than 14 and attempted to engage in sexual activity with someone he believed was younger than 18.
Guzman has pleaded not guilty, according to court records. The sex trafficking charge carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years, while the enticement charge carries a 10-year mandatory minimum. If convicted, he faces up to life in prison on each count and a fine of up to $250,000.
In a separate case the DOJ announced Tuesday, former Valley Christian High School coach, teaching assistant and operations manager Todd Baldwin, 46, pleaded guilty to two counts of online child enticement and two counts of receiving child pornography, admitting he paid teenage boys thousands of dollars to create sexually explicit images and videos.
In a plea agreement, Baldwin admitted using Snapchat, Venmo, Gmail and other online services between October 2021 and August 2023 to persuade several teenage boys to create sexually explicit material for him. His victims attended Valley Christian and Live Oak High School in Morgan Hill, prosecutors said, and he met at least one of them through his job at Valley Christian.
Prosecutors said he paid four boys, ages 16 and 17, thousands of dollars through Venmo and Cash App. Baldwin told some of the boys he intended to resell the images and videos online, according to the plea agreement. He also solicited worn underwear and clothing from boys for resale.
Authorities later searched Baldwin’s home and found electronic devices containing child sexual abuse material, including an image involving a prepubescent boy, prosecutors said. Baldwin also admitted enticing two additional victims.
Baldwin remains free on bond under electronic monitoring and home detention. He is scheduled to be sentenced Jan. 26 and faces a mandatory minimum of 10 years in federal prison and a maximum sentence of life. The DOJ also said he may face a $250,000 fine and pay restitution to his victims.
The FBI and San Jose police investigated both cases.
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This article originally published at 2 Bay Area school employees facing federal child sex crime cases.