PHOENIX — A teacher at a Phoenix Union high school has been arrested after being accused of having sex with a student nearly a decade ago, according to the Phoenix Police Department.
Officers responded to a home on Sept. 8 for an investigation into reports of child sex abuse, court documents say.
A woman, now 26, told officers she had previous sexual encounters with George Cardenas, now 35, when she was 16 years old and Cardenas was 25, documents say. Some of the sexual encounters occurred at North High School.
Court documents go on to state that the sexual encounters with Cardenas began in February 2012, when the victim was in her junior year of high school.
The victim told authorities Cardenas would have her meet him at a Fry's grocery store after school and the pair would go back to his house to have sex, documents say. Cardenas also recorded a few of the encounters, according to court documents.
Before the victim turned 18, Cardenas and the girl would primarily communicate via email, court documents say. The woman provided authorities with pages of printed conversations between the teacher and herself. According to police, two weeks before the victim's 18th birthday, the victim moved in with Cardenas at his home in Tempe in July 2013.
It was stated in court documents that Cardenas and the victim ended their relationship in 2017, and the victim moved out.
In a 2019 tweet from the Phoenix Union, Cardenas was said to have been employed at Wilson College Prep.
On Friday, the Phoenix Union High School District released the following statement:
"Yesterday afternoon, local law enforcement detained a Wilson College Prep staff member. The safety of those we serve remains our top priority, and at no time during the arrest on campus were any staff or students in danger. When and as appropriate, we will provide an update with more information. The employee is currently on leave."
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