ROCKVILLE, Md. – A former substitute teacher in the Montgomery County public schools system pleaded guilty on Wednesday to sexually abusing students.
Jose Pineda, 50, appeared in court and accepted a plea deal. His trial was set to begin Monday.
Pineda was charged with abusing four students. He pleaded guilty to sex abuse of a minor and third-degree sex offense.
Police arrested Pineda in October after he was accused of inappropriately touching a 12-year-old girl at Roberto Clemente Middle School.
Numerous students from other schools stepped forward in the subsequent weeks with similar allegations.
One alleged victim, now 23 years old, claims she was abused in 2004 when she was in seventh grade at Forest Oak Middle School. According to court records, she called police late last year after the allegations against Pineda went public.
In November, Montgomery County Public Schools reached out to parents at the 20 schools in which Pineda had recently worked, warning them that the alleged predator had potentially spent time around their children.
Montgomery County Police also held a press conference asking other students to contact investigators if they had been abused.
Pineda will be sentenced May 29.
He faces up to five years in prison.
Pineda is not a U.S. citizen, and he could potentially be deported to Honduras.
