HAGÅTÑA (The Guam Daily Post) — A former Guam resident has been arrested in Arizona on accusations that he engaged in a sexual relationship with his student.
Nathaniel Pineda, 35, was a teacher at Dream City Christian School in Glendale when the alleged sexual assaults occurred, according to a report by Arizona Family Digital News, which obtained court documents detailing the alleged crimes.
“Court documents state on Jan. 4, an officer was called to a Glendale home after parents reported their 15-year-old daughter was sexually assaulted,” azfamily.com said.
According to Post files, Pineda was a former Guam resident and St. Paul Christian School volleyball coach before he relocated off island.
He was reportedly living with his mother in Arizona at the time of his association with the minor.
“Pineda allegedly wouldn’t leave the girl alone, so she agreed to be his girlfriend. The two ‘dated’ from late September to late October (2023), court documents stated. “Police say that while they were together, Pineda would sneak the girl out of her home and into his mother’s house, where he lived, to have sex,” the news report said.
The relationship was uncovered by the girl’s parents, who found text messages on the girl’s phone which allegedly showed Pineda asking the girl about sex and sexual favors, the report further stated.
“The victim told investigators Pineda became ‘too manipulative’ and begged her to be his girlfriend, telling her to wait for him so they could get married,” court documents stated, as reported by azfamily.com.
The report indicated that Pineda was aware his conduct was criminal.
“On Wednesday, Pineda told the victim to delete everything since he could go to jail ‘for their sexual text messages,'” the report said. “Investigators say he told her they needed to ‘get their story straight,’ and the girl had to deny everything they did together.”
The report further stated that Pineda confessed to the victim that “he was scared of being arrested and said he would go back to his home in Guam as soon as he could.”
Pineda was arrested at his mother’s home.
“He was booked on four counts of sexual conduct with a minor, four counts of sexual abuse and one count of luring a minor,” the report said.
In light of the incident, Dream City Christian School in a statement noted that Pineda was “a former employee.”
“DCCS first became aware of allegations concerning Mr. Pineda two weeks ago and immediately reported the information to law enforcement and removed Mr. Pineda from the school campus. Since that time, DCCS has been fully cooperating with the Glendale Police Department and honoring any requests the department has made concerning its investigation. DCCS would like to express its gratitude and appreciation for the diligence and professionalism displayed by the detectives at the Glendale Police Department during the course of its investigation. The well-being of students is a top DCCS priority. Therefore, DCCS would request that the privacy of its students and families be respected, especially those who have been most affected by these events,” Dream City Christian School told azfamily.com.
Nathaniel Pineda
