CLEVELAND, Ohio -- An ex-teacher's aide at a Cleveland elementary school, who is now a Cleveland police officer, had sex with a 13-year-old boy in 2015 and encouraged him to lie to detectives investigating the case, according to police.

Fifth District Patrol Officer Maria Velez, 24, is charged with sexual battery, a third-degree felony. She was booked into the Cleveland City Jail on Thursday. Her first court appearance has not yet been scheduled.

Velez worked as an instructional aide at Clark Elementary School in 2015 when she had sex with the boy, according to court records. She had sex multiple times with the then 13-year-old boy between March and December 2015, according to court records.

When Velez learned about a pending Cleveland police investigation launched in September, she called the boy and tried to convince him to lie to investigators, court records say.

Cleveland Metropolitan School District spokeswoman Roseann Canfora said Velez resigned from her position as an instructional aide in 2015 to take her job with the Cleveland Police Department.

Canfora said the district was unaware at the time of any accusations of impropriety on Velez's part while she was employed.

Court records do not list an attorney for Velez.

"Like all Americans, Officer Velez is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law," Cleveland Police Patrolmen's Association President Steve Loomis said in a text message. "A rush to judgement is speculative (and) not warranted. We trust in our criminal justice system to determine the truth in this matter."

Cleveland police spokeswoman Sgt. Jennifer Ciaccia said that Velez will be suspended without pay while the case is pending.

Velez was hired at Clark Elementary in October 2014, shortly after graduating from John Carroll University in 2014 with a degree in psychology and a minor in Spanish, according to her school district personnel file.

While at John Carroll, she volunteered for two years in the university's Project Que, a summer educational program aimed at helping middle school students. She graduated from John Hay Early College High School in 2010.

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