Rodymar Lelis, Cebu City, Cebu, Philippines (arrested Apr 2018) [molestation of student, 14]

NM teacher faces child porn charges

A New Mexico teacher who is in the U.S. on a non-immigrant visa has been arrested on federal child pornography charges, and it’s not the first time he’s been arrested for sexual crimes against children. Rodymar Lelis, 29, was charged with possession with intent to view child pornography by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security earlier this month for sending illegal videos through Facebook Messenger while he was staying at an Albuquerque hotel in September. He is currently in the Santa Fe County jail on a U.S. Marshal detainer. Lelis, who is from the Philippines, was a teacher at La ...

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https://www.abqjournal.com/1393066/nm-teacher-faces-child-porn-charges.html

 

Good article in the Rio Grande Sun based on an interview with a former board member & current parent at La Tierra Montessori School

Some excerpts:

• "... with enrollment dropping from its high of over 130 to just over 60 this year. Leadership, he said, has also been lacking. The School is currently on its third head administrator of the year. Three Council members abruptly resigned ..."

• "... while observing a class, he saw Lelis walk aggressively toward a misbehaving student and getting within 10 inches of their face. 'If I had not been in there, something else might have happened ...'"

• "One student, he said, told him how Lelis had called her “sexy” when she wore shorts to school. Another student told Sandoval that Lelis would look at him and other students in a sexual manner. One student described how Lelis would often point the front-facing camera on his computer toward students while they were in class."\\

• "Because the charges were dropped, a background check conducted by the Philippine’s National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) turned up no results. ... Lelis was asked in his application if he had ever been charged or convicted of a crime. He wrote he had not and began work later that week."

• "Lelis also included references to verify his prior work history. When the Rio Grande SUN attempted to contact these references, it was found their numbers and emails did not exist. Some included no contact information at all."

• "She said the company does not perform its own background checks, but that it probably will moving forward. '(Lelis) made us realize that we need to do our own investigation as well,” she said. “We’ve started to Google our own teachers now.'"

• "As an example, he said Abney, who is based in Los Lunas, is only present in the School twice a week, leaving a void of leadership. He wondered to whom the girl whom Lelis called 'sexy' would have gone to file a report."

• "He also said a teacher described an incident where she saw pornographic images appear on Lelis’ projector during class and that she had not told anyone else."

La Tierra Parent, Former Board Member Loses Confidence

Ben Sandoval has been involved with the community at La Tierra Montessori School for over eight years. In that time, three of his children attended the School, with his daughter currently in the sixth grade. He even served as a member of La Tierra’s Governing Council. Now, however, he is questioning the quality of the school where he has spent so many years, after his daughter’s teacher, Rodymar Lelis, was arrested Nov. 5 for allegedly possessing child pornography. “I was losing comfort that my daughter was safe at the school,” he said. In many ways, Lelis’ arrest was the final ...

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http://www.riograndesun.com/news/la...cle_1b623840-0c80-11ea-a77c-6f0d7137490a.html

 

Cebu teacher nabbed for allegedly molesting Palaro athlete

18 April 2018

A 28-year-old public school teacher from Cebu City was arrested after getting accused of molesting a 14-year-old male dance sport athlete. Senior Inspector Frederico Artates, Caoayan town police chief, said suspect Rodymar Lelis, 28, had been brought to a Vigan court for inquest due to "acts of lasciviousness." Lelis is a special education (SPED) teacher in Zapatera Elementary School in Cebu City. Artates said the police station received a spot report from a police on field that a Palaro athlete accused Lelis of inappropriate behavior. Initial investigations showed the minor victim and his teammate from Olongapo City were inside a ...

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https://rappler.com/sports/cebu-teacher-nabbed-for-allegedly-molesting-palaro-athlete