City News Service

A former music teacher at Indio's Desert Ridge Academy was ordered on Tuesday to stand trial on charges he engaged in sex acts with one of his underage female students.

Ruben Jesse Flores, 31, of Indio, is accused of having sex with one of his music students, identified as Jane Doe in court documents. Flores is charged with eight counts of lewd acts with a child, and six other counts.

Flores was arrested on April 30, 2018, after police said the mother of the alleged victim found "suggestive texts on her daughter's cell phone and notified police," according to Sgt. Daniel Marshall of the Indio Police Department.

Police obtained statements from both the suspect and the girl "regarding several incidents of unlawful sexual contact," Marshall said.

Flores was released a day after his arrest on $55,000 bail.

He is no longer employed by Desert Sands Unified School District, a spokesperson told The Desert Sun in April. According to the state Commission on Teacher Credentialing's database, Flores's credential has been placed on "non disciplinary suspension."

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Flores' arrest came just over a month after a security guard at Desert Ridge Academy was arrested for allegedly sending inappropriate text messages to a student.

James Arthur Campbell, 45, of Bermuda Dunes, was arrested in late March 2018 for allegedly sending inappropriate messages to a student identified only as Jane Doe in court documents.

Campbell pleaded guilty in November 2018 to a felony count of sending harmful material to a child and two misdemeanor counts of child annoyance and sending annoying or harassing phone call.

In April, the family of Flores' alleged victim filed a civil suit against Desert Sands Unified, arguing the district should have known about the former teacher's relationship with their child.

The civil suit, filed April 5 of this year, accuses the district of failing to protect its student, arguing that the administration has the responsibility to provide a safe learning environment, per California's education code.

According to John Jimenez, one of the attorneys representing the girl's family, the civil suit was filed after an effort to settle with the school district. He did not disclose any details about any of the settlement offers.