A former substitute teacher was sentenced Friday to five years in prison after admitting to inappropriate contact with several students.
Jose Pineda pleaded guilty last month to sexual abuse of a minor and third-degree sex offense. The allegations came to light last year, when three 12-year-old girls came forward to say that Pineda touched them multiple times.
The girls were in either sixth or seventh grade at the time of the offenses.
One victim said she asked to go to the bathroom to get away from Pineda. Another said she assumed the first incident was an accident until it continued to happen.
Pineda worked as a substitute teacher for Montgomery County Public Schools from 2003 to 2006 and again as a substitute teacher from March 2013 to September 2014. He also worked for the school district as a bus driver from 2000 to 2003.
Pineda was also accused of touching a 12-year-old girl at Forest Oak Middle School in 2004, police said. The victim told police she reported the sexual assault to her mother and that the principal was notified. A school district spokesperson said the principal had retired and it's unknown if he reported the allegations to police.
Several other middle school students came forward, but police said the acts did not rise to the level of a criminal offense.
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Prosecutors had asked the judge to impose the five-year prison sentence as a part of Pineda's plea deal.
