Music teacher to serve up to 60 years for sex abuse of children

Former elementary school teacher Jeremiah Mazo prayed one final time with his wife and daughter inside a courtroom Wednesday before a bailiff handcuffed him and led him away to begin serving up to 60 years in prison for sexually abusing three students.

Mazo, a longtime music instructor with the Clark County School District, highlighted his devotion to his faith as he tried to convince a judge to hand down a more lenient sentence.

At one point during the hearing in Clark County District Court, the 54-year-old sang the hymn "Great is Thy Faithfulness" as his friends and family silently cried behind him.

Mazo also told Judge Elizabeth Gonzalez the Holy Spirit confirmed that Jesus Christ already had forgiven him for his crimes.

"I have a lot of good things that (are) in me," Mazo said, who in August pleaded guilty to three felony counts of attempted lewdness with a child.

He added: "There's only one person who knows I really am, and that's my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ."

The judge rejected his plea for leniency and sentenced him to three consecutive terms of five to 20 years apiece, meaning he should serve between 15 and 60 years.

North Las Vegas police initially charged Mazo with 32 separate counts of child molestation, but he pleaded guilty to the three lesser counts to avoid a trial.

In April, police arrested Mazo after an 8-year-old came forward to say he molested her on 10 separate occasions at Hayden Elementary School, near Centennial Parkway and Commerce Street, in North Las Vegas.

Mazo, who admitted to two of those incidents, faced similar charges in 2008. But a North Las Vegas judge ultimately dismissed and sealed that case.

Following his April arrest, more students told investigators that Mazo molested them as well.

On Wednesday, a prosecutor called three parents of two of Mazo's victims to testify against the judge showing any leniency. One woman said her daughter feared telling police about what Mazo did to her because the girl worried he would get in trouble.

"To know that my child, an 8-year-old little girl, who Mr. Mazo did these terrible things to, was kind enough to consider the effect of her coming forward and telling the truth about him is mind-boggling," the woman said in between sobs. The Review-Journal is not including her name to protect her daughter's identity.

"Her compassion is mind-boggling. Mr. Mazo did not make that same consideration when he chose to touch these children."

Despite Mazo telling investigators that "a temptation" drove him to molest his students, his lawyer suggested Mazo, as a Filipino, may interact differently with children.

Attorney Bill Terry also said Mazo had no intention of sexual arousal when he touched the students inappropriately and presented a "low to moderate" risk to the community if released.

"Not every child that crossed his path is a victim," Terry said.

Mazo first joined the school district as a music teacher in 2003 and taught at several elementary campuses, including Hayes and Woolley in Las Vegas and Cozine and Simmons in North Las Vegas. His latest position at Hayden started six years ago.

"What this is, is systematic molestation of small children while hiding in plain sight, while hiding in plain sight right in our classrooms," prosecutor Stacy Kollins said.

"Parents need to be able to send their children to school and have them safe, and instead what we have in Mr. Mazo is a predator," Kollins added.

In 2008, Mazo faced similar allegations of sexually abusing a child. North Las Vegas Justice of the Peace Natalie Tyrrell dismissed the charges after Mazo completed certain court requirements, and Tyrrell later sealed the case from public view. Tyrrell also handled the new case until it went to District Court.

The 2008 case remains sealed, and efforts to obtain information on it were blocked by the school district and the Justice Court.

After the 2008 case, Mazo returned to work in elementary schools — a fact district officials blamed on stipulations in union contracts make it difficult to fire teachers without evidence or a conviction in court.

Superintendent Pat Skorkowsky suspended Mazo without pay after he missed too many days of work following his arrest. He has since been dismissed, according to a district spokeswoman.

Contact Neal Morton at nmorton@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0279. Find him on Twitter: @nealtmorton