SAN JOSE — A former San Jose middle school assistant principal arrested earlier this year in a Super Bowl week undercover sting is now facing charges of attempted sex trafficking of a child and attempted coercion and enticement of a child, federal authorities said.
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Ruben Guzman, 32, of San Jose, was arraigned on the charges Wednesday in San Jose.
An indictment alleges that Guzman attempted to engage in a commercial sex act with a person he believed was under the age of 14 and that he attempted to engage in sexual activities with a person he believed was under the age of 18, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Guzman was remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service, authorities said.
If convicted, Guzman faces a maximum sentence of life in federal prison for both counts. Attempted sex trafficking of a child carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years and attempted coercion and enticement of a minor carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years. He could also be ordered to pay a $250,000 fine.
Guzman worked as an assistant principal and math teacher at Sunrise Middle School.
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In a statement Wednesday, the school’s director, Teresa Robinson, said Guzman was separated from the school after his arrest on Feb. 3.
“We want to emphasize that over the past seven months we have not become aware of any allegations involving Sunrise students or any misconduct of this nature occurring at our school,” Robinson said. “The safety and well-being of our students is always our highest priority, and when we learned of the earlier allegations, we acted immediately.”
In a news release announcing Guzman’s arrest, the San Jose Police Department said he communicated with an officer posing as a teen boy and “acknowledged the child was underage and told the minor that he wanted to engage in sexual acts, further enticing the minor by offering money in exchange.” Guzman was arrested later that day.
The arrest was part of a broader undercover operation conducted by SJPD’s Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force in coordination with the Federal Bureau of Investigation and other federal and local agencies during Super Bowl week.
Along with Guzman, 11 other men were arrested in the sweep. They ranged in age from 24 to 72.
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