Ex-Durango teacher gets prison in sexual assault case

A former Durango High School teacher accused of having sexual contact with students was sentenced to prison Tuesday.

District Judge Jackie Glass sentenced Angel Menes, 40, to 18 to 48 months behind bars after he pleaded guilty to having sexual contact with two students.

Menes, a driver's education teacher, was not in custody before the hearing. He was taken into custody after the judge sentenced him.

"I never meant for this to happen," he said.

Authorities arrested Menes in April on one count of sexual assault and one count of sexual misconduct.

One of his victims, who was 16 at the time, said she was devastated by Menes' actions. She said she began cutting herself and eventually went into a psychiatric hospital for four days.

Adding to her stress was the fact that Menes had a sexually transmitted disease.

The victim's mother said her daughter went from 96 pounds to 80 pounds and tried to kill herself.

The legal age of consent in Nevada is 16, but it's against the law for school employees to have sex with students.