Upland school employee faces charges for alleged contacts with student

RANCHO CUCAMONGA -- A proctor at Hillside High School in Upland has been charged with a misdemeanor for allegedly sending sexually suggestive text messages to an underage girl who attends the school.

Ruben Olivas, a 59-year-old retired police officer, allegedly told the girl he loved her and wanted to kiss her, and tried to arrange a meeting with the girl over Thanksgiving break, according to a police report contained in his court file.

Olivas, an Upland resident, pleaded not guilty last week to the charge -- annoying or molesting a child under 18.

He is next due in West Valley Superior Court March 10 for a pretrial hearing.

It remained unclear this week whether Olivas still works at the school or remains employed by the Upland Unified School District.

His attorney, Greg Lester, declined to comment. An administrative assistant to the district's Superintendent of Human Services said, "We can't discuss anything with you. It's a personnel matter."

According to the police report, the girl told an officer that she and another student obtained Olivas' cell phone number and began sending him text messages.

The girl said Olivas began sending her messages in November that she felt were inappropriate, according to the police report.

Among Olivas' messages to the girl were one in which he said he wanted to kiss her, one attempting to arrange a meeting, and another that said, "Night sweetie pie," according to the report.

The girl said Olivas often said he loved her, and once offered to buy her alcohol and tobacco.

The girl reported the alleged messages to police on Dec. 15. She saved some of the messages and provided them to authorities, according to the report.

When Olivas was contacted by police, he denied the girl's allegations and said she may have taken his text messages out of context. However, he admitted saying he loved her, according to the police report.

"He said that he did tell her that he loved her, but he also tells everybody that he loves them," the report says. "He said that most of these students come from a broken home and do not hear these words, so he tends to tell everybody that he loves them."

Olivas told police he never asked the girl for a kiss or offered her alcohol and tobacco.

"He advised that he is a retired police officer and would never do such a thing," the report says.

The San Bernardino County District Attorney's Office filed criminal charges against Olivas on Dec. 29.