A former Douglas elementary teacher will be going to prison for at least a decade on child sex abuse charges, if he shows up in a Cochise County courtroom come June. But not everyone is pleased with the outcome of the case.
Jesus Armenta signed a plea agreement on Feb. 9 which called for him to enter No Contest pleas to two felonies – attempted continuous sexual abuse of one child and knowingly attempting to commit child molestation of another child. The offense dates range from 2013 to 2016.
A plea of No Contest, or Nolo Contendere, means a criminal defendant does not admit guilt but will not contest the State’s evidence. A No Contest plea is the functional equivalent of a guilty plea for purposes of sentencing and is considered a conviction as if found guilty.
Both felonies contained in Armenta’s plea deal are considered dangerous crimes against children due to the victims being age 14 or younger. He will be required to serve between 10 and 14 years in prison, followed by probation and registering as a sex offender.
“I am not happy with the plea deal,” the mother of one victim told Judge Joel Larson through an interpreter during the recent plea hearing. “He stole the peace and childhood from my daughter for many years.”
Another victim representative also voiced his displeasure, noting he was particularly upset the No Contest plea meant Armenta, 39, was not required to admit wrongdoing toward any of the seven victims named in the grand jury indictment.
Deputy County Attorney Michael Powell acknowledged the families’ concerns, but told Larson the outcome was in the interest of justice. He added that several children will be spared having to testify about their experiences with Armenta, who was also a local youth soccer coach.
The victims and their families will have one more opportunity to express their opinion on Armenta when Larson conducts a pre-sentence hearing on May 23. Armenta’s attorney, Rafael Malanga, will make arguments to the judge in support of a 10-year prison term while Powell plans to put forth aggravating factors for why Armenta should spend 14 years in prison.
Larson will then conduct a formal sentencing hearing on June 20. But Armenta cannot be sentenced if he does not show up in court. And some family members are concerned that is what will happen, as Armenta remains out of custody without bond or any type of monitoring.
Public records show Armenta is under a court order to not leave the U.S., but he has been granted court approval on several occasions to visit family in Mexico. Unlike federal court, where a defendant is routinely required to surrender any passport or visas even before accepting a plea deal, no such order has been made in Armenta’s case.
Armenta worked for the Douglas Unified School District as a substitute teacher before being hired fulltime in 2014. He was named one of the district’s teachers of the year but surrendered his teacher’s certificate in 2017 after coming under investigation.
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