On June 30, 2012, at approximately 11:38 p.m., Pima County Sheriff’s Department deputies responded to a report of a suspicious vehicle parked in the area 6600 block of South Gila Avenue. In a parked van, they found 53-year-old Richard Ortiz, a hall monitor at Tucson High School, with a 15-year-old female student. Both WERE only partially dressed.
Authorities say that the initial investigation confirmed the obvious suspicion that Ortiz was involved in sexual activity with the juvenile victim.
Ortiz and the girl were taken from the scene for further questioning by detectives of the Sheriff’s Crimes Against Children Unit.
Ortiz had been a wrestling coach for Tucson High School until January, when he was removed due to reports of abusive behavior. Ortiz kept his job as a hall monitor. In that position, he had unlimited access to children and was in a position of trust.
It appears that Ortiz abused that trust. What is not yet clear is the degree to which his behavior was enabled by TUSD administrators and a culture of looking the other way when it came to questionable behaviors, especially the questionable behavior of staff.
The girl, Ortiz’s victim was a member of the wrestling team and received private wrestling instruction from Ortiz until his arrest.
His victim accompanied Ortiz to assist with setting up a special event. At the time Ortiz was supposed to return her back home, he instead took the girl to the south end of Gila Avenue, where he engaged in sexual activity with the juvenile.
Within the past few weeks, Ortiz was removed from the Tucson High School Gym by district security. Due to concerns about his “inappropriate behavior,” Ortiz no longer had permission to be in the wrestling weight lifting area. When challenged by a school administrator, Ortiz reportedly refused to leave. District security was called in to assist.
Ortiz was relieved of duty as the school’s wrestling coach by THS Principal Abel Morado. At the time, according to two district insiders, Morado had serious reasons to be concerned about Ortiz’s treatment of students. According to former THS employees, Morado has maintained a policy, over the years, of looking the other way.
However, it was Morado’s willingness to do almost anything to prevent bad publicity for the district, and of course his years of “dedicated service” to central administrators, that secured him a promotion to the district’s central administration in January.
It will be up to members of the Governing Board to make sure a real investigation determines whether preventing bad publicity for the district included covering up any inappropriate or illegal conduct by Ortiz. At the same time, educations experts say, it is critical for the Governing Board to re-examine its policies and all contracts with employee groups to make sure that student safety, and not the convenience of adults, is a prime focus of both district policies and contracts.
Despite wide opposition from district employees and insiders, Morado is now serving as TUSD’s assistant superintendent in charge of high schools. Morado was the principal of THS for eight tumultuous years. For nearly five years, Ortiz worked with Morado. Any past complaints about Ortiz must be re-examined in light of his arrest to see whether the behavior resulting in arrest could reasonably have been prevented by site administrators, most particularly principal Morado.
Morado says he is dedicated to building up staff, and as a result, the hall monitor, Ortiz, was given the inflated title, “Student Liaison.”
TUSD Governing Board member Mark Stegeman said that it was “obviously a serious situation, which raises serious questions” but he preferred to wait “for Monday before offering any comment.” Board member Hicks is calling for an outside investigation of the District’s actions. Members Sugiyama and Cuevas did not respond to questions at all.
“Ultimately, it is the Board and the administration that are responsible for putting this victim at risk. If they didn’t know there were serious issues, they should have known,” said one long time district insider. “It was Morado’s job to go to the authorities if there was reason to believe a student was being molested, or kids were being abused. Ortiz should have never had access to kids, if there was any hint that there was inappropriate behavior.”
Pedicone has said that he is a believer in what he calls “monkey management,” which is based on the policy of letting the monkey rest on the back of his underlings.
Tonight there is a Governing Board meeting at 6:30 p.m., 1010 East 10th Street. The Board’s meetings are usually held on Tuesdays, but Pedicone will not be available. He just returned from Korea, and is scheduled to begin his vacation on Tuesday.
The Student Liaison, Ortiz, was arrested for Sexual Conduct with a Minor and was booked into the Pima County Adult Detention Center. The investigation continues.