A volunteer teacher suspected of having a sexual relationship with a student has been arrested and charged with multiple felony counts.
Gary Vau Jr., 31, is charged with three counts of criminal sexual penetration, two counts of criminal sexual contact of a minor and one count of contributing to the delinquency of a minor.
In early March 2015, Las Cruces Police learned that Vau, a volunteer teacher at St. Mary’s High School, had allegedly been communicating by cell phone with a girl at the school since April 2014.
Through their investigation, detectives learned that in June 2014 the communications between Vau and the student, who was 17 at the time, became sexually explicit and the two continued to converse throughout the summer. Detectives learned that the relationship between the two became sexual in August 2014 and continued into 2015.
In New Mexico it is illegal for a licensed school employee, an unlicensed school employee, a school contract employee, a school health service employee or a school volunteer to engage in sex or have any sexual contact with a student.
Vau was arrested Wednesday, April 15, and booked into the Dona Ana County Detention Center under a $50,000 bond. He posted bail Thursday and has since been released.
Information from Las Cruces Police