I-Team: Charges dropped against former North Las Vegas teacher accused of sexually assaulting teen – KLAS – 8 News Now

Student had claimed sex assault 2 years later

LAS VEGAS (KLAS) Prosecutors have dropped all charges against a former behavioral therapist who was accused of sexually assaulting a 15-year-old client who has autism.

Amy Villarreal, 30, said the allegations, which included taking the student off school property and raping him on two occasions, were false.

Villarreal worked at Crescent Academy, which describes itself online as a community-based behavioral treatment program for individuals with autism spectrum disorder.

When North Las Vegas police interviewed Villarreal last year, she told detectives she remembered the student but denied having any inappropriate conduct with him, police said at the time.

Prosecutors dropped all charges last week.

It really does ruin peoples lives, Villarreal said Tuesday. I honestly didnt think it was real.

Police arrested Villarreal in September, charging her with four sex-related felonies. At the time of her arrest, police suggested there may be more victims due to the circumstances of working with a vulnerable population.

According to a police report, Villarreal was accused of driving the teenager to a park, removing his clothing and sexually assaulting him twice.

When he mentioned what that client had said, I was confused and I was shocked and I didnt really know how to feel, Villarreal said.

Villarreals attorney, Warren Geller, said there was no other evidence other than the students account. The teenager said both alleged incidents happened in August 2019. Villarreal left Crescent Academy that month, she said.

Villarreal said she had maintained her innocence since before her arrest. Geller showed the 8 News Now I-Team of video of a detective interrogating Villarreal about the allegations.

Now, theres no question in my mind that that happened. Im being honest. No question in my mind that something did happen, the detective tells Villarreal. How bad it was? How many times it was?

Villarreal responds, saying nothing happened. Minutes later, the detectives claimed to have video of Villarreal and the client in her car.

Is there any reason why we would have video of you and [the student] in your car? the detective asks.

No, she replied.

There was no reason because according to Geller, that video did not exist.

Geller showed the I-Team Villareals timecards and Crescent Academys record of which provider the teenager worked with for all of 2019. Villarreal and the teenager overlapped on two days in August but were not assigned to each other.

There are only two dates in August 2019 when she was in the facility and the accuser was at the facility. Just two days, Geller said.

Records showed the pair worked together on three days in all of 2019, adding teachers could not leave the facility with students. A teacher driving with a student off-campus would not go unnoticed, Geller said.

I just thought it didnt make sense, because there was no way I would be able to take him out, Villarreal said.

As for her next steps, Villarreal said she is working as a personal trainer.

It ruined my career. It was hard finding a job, she said. It was something I really enjoyed, and it was a passion of mine. I was really good at it and I was happy doing what I did.

It is unlikely Villarreal could sue the police department due to qualified immunity. The department did not have a comment Tuesday.

The Clark County District Attorneys Office, which prosecutes cases from the police department, did not respond to a request for comment.

View original post here:

I-Team: Charges dropped against former North Las Vegas teacher accused of sexually assaulting teen - KLAS - 8 News Now