Durango teacher accused of sex acts with student

A Durango High School teacher was arrested over the weekend on suspicion he had sexual contact with a student, Las Vegas police said Sunday.

Angel Benjamin Menes, 39, was arrested Saturday night by officers with the Metropolitan Police Department's sex crimes unit. He was booked into the Clark County Detention Center on one count each of sexual assault and sexual misconduct with a student.

Police said the arrest was made after a parent contacted police alleging that Menes had engaged in sexual acts with a student.

Police said Menes might have victimized other students at the campus near Russell Road and Rainbow Boulevard.

Clark County School District Superintendent Walt Rulffes said that any time a teacher is accused of having sexually assaulted a student, the teacher is removed from the classroom immediately. "If there was an arrest, of course we would remove them from any interaction with students," Rulffes said.

Menes worked as a long-term substitute, Rulffes said.

Police said Menes was a driver's education teacher at Durango. The school's Web site lists him as a social studies teacher.

Las Vegas police didn't say when the crime is alleged to have occurred, whether it happened on school grounds or how many students they suspect might have been victims.

Menes, who wasn't listed as an inmate at the detention center late Sunday, couldn't be reached for comment.

Terri Miller, president of Stop Educator Sexual Abuse, Misconduct and Exploitation, said the allegations against Menes are particularly troubling because there might be multiple victims.

Miller said that under Nevada's state law, a school employee who is convicted of sex with a minor isn't required to register as a sex offender if it is the only charge he or she is convicted of. Miller has been lobbying the Legislature to change that law. She said the loophole allows teachers to prey on students and move from district to district.

"It would be easy for them to move to another jurisdiction and gain employment working with children again," Miller said. "And that's just not right."

Anyone with information concerning Menes' activities is urged to contact Las Vegas police at 828-3421, or, for those who wish to provide information anonymously, 385-5555.

Contact reporter Antonio Planas at aplanas@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-4638.