Photo: FLLewis / Media City G — John Burroughs High School 1920 West Clark Avenue Burbank June 6, 2015
The bail for former Burbank school employee, Jose Antonio Banuelos Jr., has been raised to $1 million. It happened yesterday in a Burbank court where Banuelos was arraigned. Last Tuesday, the Los Angeles District Attorney’s office filed six sex felonies against 28 year-old Banuelos, including two counts of unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor.
Banuelos was arrested last Friday after a 17 year-old John Burroughs female student reportedly told Burbank Police about their sexual relationship. The ex-assistant boys baseball coach at Burroughs allegedly began the relationship with the victim in June of 2013, when she was 15. The relationship ended February 29, 2016, according to a news release from the DA’s Office.
In court on Wednesday, Banuelos pleaded not guilty to the felonies and a misdemeanor for carrying a concealed firearm. He was ordered back to court on April first to set a date for a preliminary hearing. If convicted, Banuelos could be sentenced to at least 7 years in prison.
Also, Banuelos is a part-time employee of the City of Burbank. He was hired in September of 2015 as a recreation leader with the Parks and Recreation Department. “His employment status has not changed, but it will be reviewed,” according to Drew Sugars, Burbank public information officer.
Banuelos is the latest of several employees or former Burbank school workers arrested for sex-related charges involving minors. In January of 2016, Kyle Roach, an ex-girls’ volleyball coach at Burbank High, reportedly pleaded no contest to one count of oral copulation of a minor and was sentenced to 90 days in jail. Last month, Clarke Surrey, an ex-Burroughs employee, pleaded no contest to one count of unlawful sexual intercourse and was sentenced to one year behind bars. Both Roach and Surrey were arrested last June.
Meanwhile, a case is still ongoing against a former Burroughs substitute teacher, Kenneth Robert Delman, arrested in February of 2015 for allegedly soliciting an undercover police officer who was posing as a 13-year-old girl on the Internet.
