Parents are concerned after a third teacher in Albuquerque, New Mexico, was arrested in a month for inappropriate behavior with students, KOB 4 reported.
Albuquerque police arrested Julian Gunther on Tuesday and transported him to the Metropolitan Detention Center. Gunther, who taught seventh grade social studies at Rio Grande Academy of Fine Arts, is accused of sending sexual messages to someone he thought was a child, according to the report.
A detective with Santa Fe police reached out to Gunther posing as a 12-year-old girl after Gunther allegedly posted online searching for women between the ages of 18 and 35 to hook up with. Gunther allegedly continued speaking with the detective, who he thought was an underage girl, and the conversations became sexual, according to court documents.
“He also reportedly sent several naked pictures and videos. Gunther even allegedly said he was paranoid about getting sent to jail for what he was sending,” the report continues, noting that Gunther allegedly sent some of the messages while he was at work.
Gunther told the detective in one of his messages that he is a father. He also allegedly told the detective, who he thought was a girl, that she could become emancipated from her mother in four years, according to the report.
School administrators told the outlet Gunther started teaching at the school mid-semester and his contract has not been renewed. School officials said they could not comment on why they chose not to renew his contract. They also said school leadership had not received any complaints from parents, students, or staff about Gunther, according to the report.
New Mexico Public Education Department Communications Director Janelle Garcia told the outlet that “the safety and well-being of students is our high priority, and behavior of this nature has no place in our school or communities.”
Garcia continued:
The New Mexico Public Education Department remains committed to safeguarding every student in New Mexico and holding educators to the highest professional and ethical standards.
When a complaint is filed against an educator or NMPED becomes aware of potential unethical conduct by an educator through other means, the PED initiates a review of the allegations to determine if an investigation is warranted. If sufficient grounds exist, an investigation is opened to determine if grounds and sufficient evidence exist to take disciplinary action against a licensee. This process can lead to a hearing and potential action impacting an educator’s license, up to and including suspension or revocation.
Gunther’s arrest comes after two other local teachers were arrested for inappropriate contact with students “or worse,” the report states.
Teacher Patrick Corr is accused of inappropriate relationships with students at John Adams Middle School, as well as allegedly getting a 15-year-old girl pregnant who was not his student. He was arrested last month and is still in jail, according to the report.
U.S. Marshals also arrested Hope Christian Elementary teacher Kelly McEachran in Idaho last week. McEachran is accused of inappropriately touching an 11-year-old student. Another alleged victim has also come forward, and police said they believe there could be others.
UNM Associate Professor of Psychiatry Kristina Sowar advised concerned parents to have important conversations with their children about what safe touch is and is not.
“Helping reiterate for kids that it’s possible that anyone can be a perpetrator of unsafe touch. And I think really making it clear for them that if this unsafe touch is happening, that that’s the most important thing to be able to talk about,” she said.
