Ex-cheer coach at Las Vegas high school arrested on lewdness charges
Spring Valley High School’s former cheer coach was arrested Monday on felony charges that involve sexual misconduct.
Joshua Balelo, 29, has been charged with two counts of lewdness with a minor older than 14 and two counts of child abuse. Clark County School District officials announced the charges Tuesday.
Officials said Balelo was fired from his coaching duties in September, when police were tipped off to allegations of inappropriate contact with two female students.
He had coached at the school, located at 3750 S. Buffalo Drive, since August 2013.
“It should be noted he was not a classroom teacher nor a full-time employee,” school district police Capt. Ken Young said.
Balelo was being held Tuesday evening at the Clark County Detention Center. His lawyer, Gary Modafferi, said arrangements for house arrest were being made. Balelo has pleaded not guilty, the lawyer said.
“There’s been a defense investigation to support his plea of not guilty,” Modafferi said. “The defense investigation has indicated nothing happened.”
A preliminary hearing in Las Vegas Justice Court is scheduled for April 2.
Balelo is the sixth district employee arrested in Clark County this academic year on sexual misconduct charges, and the 11th employee arrested this school year overall.
In the 2016-17 school year, 13 employees were arrested on sexual misconduct charges, prompting new laws and changes in the district.
A Las Vegas Review-Journal investigative series found that sexual misconduct between employees and students was a system-wide crisis that resulted in at least five lawsuits over a five-year period. The district has since crafted a policy and regulation to address relations between students and staff, and has released new training videos for employees, parents and students.
Contact Meghin Delaney at 702-383-0281 or mdelaney@reviewjournal.com. Follow @MeghinDelaney on Twitter.
Other employee arrests
Other arrests of Clark County School District employees during the 2017-18 school year:
— Kathryn Navrides, a special education teacher at Ruthe Deskin Elementary School arrested on child abuse charges.
— Jeffrey Schultz, a teacher at Brown Middle School, arrested on four counts of unlawful contact with a minor. Schultz also was arrested on sexual misconduct charges in the 2016-17 year, and the new charges date from that time period.
— Betty Seward, a custodian at Coronado High School, arrested on theft charges.
— Scott Weissinger, a truancy officer for the district, arrested on battery charges.
— Theodore Levrich, a teacher's assistant at Doris French Elementary School, arrested on child abuse charges.
— Juan Chavez, a volunteer soccer coach at Clark High School, arrested on lewdness charges.
— Luis Busso, a third-grade teacher at Ira Earl Elementary School, arrested on lewdness charges.
— Kweku Turkson, a middle school English teacher at West Prep Academy, arrested on lewdness charges.
— Renee Rine, a math teacher at West Career and Technical Academy, arrested on lewdness charges.
— Suzanna Raygoza-Rosen, a first-grade teacher at Cunningham Elementary School, arrested on child abuse charges.
