Albuquerque charter school teacher accused in sexual abuse of a relative

Prosecutors have filed a motion to keep an Albuquerque charter school substitute teacher behind bars after he was fired for allegedly sexually abusing a teenager.

Federico Chacon, 52, was charged with criminal sexual penetration of a minor.

Chacon was arrested at the Albuquerque Bilingual Academy (ABA) — a dual-language public charter school that teaches students pre-kindergarten to 8th grade — and booked into the Metropolitan Detention Center on Sept. 11.

Chacon was a part-time substitute teacher at the school for roughly one month before his arrest, according to a news release from ABA executive director Elena Trodden. The school said that while officers could not provide details on the ongoing investigation, no students were involved and Chacon has since been fired.

“Over the weekend, ABA Administration learned of the nature of the charges through online resources,” Trodden said. “This individual is no longer associated with ABA.”

“All employees must pass a background check with fingerprints and references of previous employers prior to employment,” Trodden said. “This part-time, temporary employee passed all required background and reference checks. An internal investigation is underway.”

Prior to his arrest, officers were dispatched on Sept. 6 after receiving a call that a child had experienced sexual abuse. Police spoke with Chacon’s teenage stepdaughter, who said she had been sexually abused by Chacon for three years, according to a criminal complaint filed in Metropolitan Court.

The teen told police Chacon had moved into their home a few years ago and Chacon began touching her and framed it as “dad and daughter night,” the complaint said. The teenager told her mother and Chacon said he was a “physical touch person.”

Police said the girl told them Chacon’s behavior began to escalate and the abuse happened before and after school. The teen told police she began waking up at 4 a.m. to avoid Chacon.

In a pretrial detention motion filed on Sept. 15, prosecutors said Chacon’s “behavior is violent, dangerous and shows no regard for the safety and well-being of (the stepdaughter) or other children.”

“The court will be unable to ensure that the defendant is complaint or that he is not victimizing other children,” the pretrial detention motion states.

Chacon’s case was transferred to District Court after a hearing on Sept. 12.