Nov. 6: A Southwest High School teacher was charged Wednesday in Freeborn County District Court with soliciting a 15-year-old student for sex during the 2023-24 school year.

Gerardo Guerrero, 31, of Austin, was charged with one count of soliciting a child to engage in sexual conduct and one count of distributing through electronic communication material relating to or describing sexual conduct with a child, both crimes. serious.

Court documents state that Guerrero and the student met briefly at Albert Lea High School while she was handing out cupcakes to teachers one day. That day Guerrero had worked as a substitute teacher.

According to the Albert Lea School District website, he is now a physical education teacher at Southwest.

The student reportedly said that when she gave Guerrero a cupcake, he asked her full name and told her to stop by at the end of the day to buy some candy, which she and her friend did before returning home.

He reportedly later found her on Instagram and Snapchat and reached out.

Court documents claim the teen was added through a Snapchat called “Jear Bear.” When she asked him who he was, he replied that he was “Mr. Guerrero” and told her that he had received her cupcake. He reportedly looked up her account on Instagram, saw who she was, and responded to her on Snapchat, asking if she had contacted the right person and told him she was a student.

Guerrero reportedly responded, “It’s fine and no one will find out.”

Authorities reportedly obtained permission to search the student’s phone and found a video and 10 photos that Guerrero had allegedly sent to the girl, including some of a sexual nature.

Police received a report on Oct. 31 that the teacher was allegedly soliciting the girl to have sex. Screenshots of other messages were shown to police, including messages in which Guerrero reportedly talked about secretly dating and the girl keeping her promise not to tell anyone what was happening.

Freeborn County District Court Judge Ross Leuning set Guerrero’s unconditional bond at $50,000 and conditional bond at $25,000. Conditions include no contact with the alleged victim and no unsupervised contact with children other than his own children. You must also sign an extradition waiver and wear a GPS tracking device.

The district said in a statement Tuesday that Guerrero is on paid administrative leave. He was arrested Tuesday at the Brooskide Education Center.