CLEVELAND, Ohio – A Cleveland police officer has been indicted on sexual battery and intimidation of a crime victim charges after authorities say she had sex with a 13-year-old boy several times in 2015, while she worked as teacher’s aid at an elementary school.
Maria Velez, 24, is also charged with attempted tampering with evidence.
Velez has been free on a $10,000 bond since her Oct. 20 arrest. She is scheduled for a Dec. 7 arraignment.
She was suspended without pay from her job as a patrol officer in the department’s Fifth District following her arrest last month.
The accusations stem from when Velez worked as an instructional aide at Clark Elementary School. She had sex with a 13-year-old student at the school between March and December 2015, according to court records.
Velez resigned her position in 2015 and to take a job with Cleveland police department.
Detectives in Cleveland’s internal affairs unit began investigating the claims in September, court records say. When Velez learned about the pending probe, she called the boy and tried to convince him to lie, court records say.
Cleveland Municipal School District spokeswoman Roseann Canfora said last month that the district was unaware of any accusations of impropriety on Velez’s part while she was employed.
Source: http://www.cleveland.com/metro/index.ssf/2017/11/grand_jury_indicts_cleveland_p_1.html