HIALEAH, Fla. – A 42-year-old man stands accused of sexually abusing girls who were under his care while he worked as a Miami-Dade County Public Schools substitute teacher.
Records show Elmer Melendez was at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center on Friday facing 13 charges for the alleged crimes against his students in Hialeah.
According to the arrest report in the case, Heriberto Sanchez, the school principal, told police officers a “concerned parent” wrote an e-mail accusing Melendez of abusing 3 girls “inside classrooms.”
“The minors stated that they were afraid to come forward due to his position as an authority figure,” a police officer wrote in the report.
Palm Springs Middle School in Hialeah lists Sanchez as the principal. According to the Miami-Dade Schools Police Department, Melendez will no longer be allowed to work for M-DCPS.
Correctional officers booked Melendez on Thursday afternoon. He was facing seven counts of lewd and lascivious molestation against a child between 12 and 16 years old, three counts of offenses against students by authority figures, and three counts of lewd and lascivious behavior.
Detectives asked anyone with information about this or other cases to call Miami-Dade County Crime Stoppers at 305-471-8477.