Teacher accused of having sex with student inside Hemet classroom

A Hemet teacher is being investigated for allegedly performing sexual acts with a student inside a locked classroom.

A 17-year-old Hemet High junior told a school official that ninth-grade English teacher Janel Ramirez, 31, had initiated their relationship and kissed him while she was still a teacher's aide, the Riverside Press Enterprise reported Monday.

The newspaper obtained a search warrant and an affidavit alleging that Ramirez began kissing and fondling the student when the pair were alone in a classroom working on an essay. The student also alleges that Ramirez guided him to a chair and where she performed oral copulation, and on another day the student and teacher had intercourse. The warrant states that Ramirez told the student they would be together after college.        

In a statement, the Riverside County Sheriff's Department said that school administrators reported the incident Feb. 29 and the misconduct is alleged to have occurred in December. Ramirez was arrested March 1.

Sheriff’s spokesman Albert Martinez said the department has handed the case to the Riverside District Attorney can provide no additional information. According to online inmate records, Ramirez was charged with two counts of oral copulation, one count of unlawful sex with a minor, and one count of consensual sex with a minor. She was released on $100,000 bail.

“We are reviewing the case but we have not made a filing decision,” said John Hall, a spokesman with the Riverside County district attorney’s office.  “She hasn’t been formally charged on anything.”

It was unclear if the school district has placed Ramirez on leave. A call to the Hemet Unified School District was not immediately  returned.

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--Matt Stevens
Twitter.com/mattstevenslat

Photo: Janel Ramirez. Credit: Riverside County Sheriff's Department.