A tort claim recently filed against the City of Las Vegas and West Las Vegas Schools alleges that Las Vegas Police destroyed evidence related to the sexual assault case involving former WLVS security guard Abran Ulibarri. The suit also alleges that LVPD officers harassed the young girl involved in the case, as well as her family.
Ulibarri was originally charged on Jan. 20 with three counts second-degree criminal sexual penetration of a child using force or coercion, four counts second-degree criminal sexual contact with a minor by a person in a position of authority, six counts false imprisonment, bribery of a witness and criminal solicitation to commit tampering with evidence.
The criminal complaint against Ulibarri alleged that he forcefully performed sexual acts on a 14-year-old girl who was a student at West Las Vegas Middle School when Ulibarri was a security guard for the school.
The charges came after an investigation by the Office of the Attorney General, which began in May 2019, court records show. A police report was filed with the Las Vegas Police Department on May 21, 2019, about an “ongoing sexual relationship” between Ulibarri and an eighth grade student at West Las Vegas Middle School.
LVPD opened an investigation, but no charges were filed. A civil lawsuit was filed against Ulibarri in July 2019, but was dismissed in April 2020 following 180 days of inactivity. However, around the same time, the New Mexico Office of the Attorney General took over the criminal investigation.
According to the recently filed tort claim, though, the young girl and her family allege that LVPD did not properly handle the evidence they collected for the case. The tort claim also alleges that WLVS did not do enough to protect its students in this case.
The tort claim establishes that the girl was an eighth grade student at the time of the alleged sexual abuse, and that the child went to Ulibarri’s office on campus during the school day to discuss “the issues and challenges she was experiencing,” according to the tort claim. Meetings between the two of them occurred every day beginning in early April 2019, according to court documents.
The claim also said that Ulibarri admitted to making physical contact and talking about sex with the child, and that things escalated to sexual assault after he “kissed her neck” in his office. The two reportedly communicated by text outside of school, and Ulibarri reportedly requested explicit photographs from the child. The claim also says that Ulibarri instructed the girl to delete all text messages they exchanged.
LVPD Involvement
After the alleged abuse was reported to LVPD on May 21, 2019, Sergeant Rael requested the girl’s cell phone as evidence and LVPD interviewed the girl as well as teachers and friends. However, the suit claims no further steps were ever taken to advance the investigation.
After sitting dormant for five months, the investigation was transferred to Detective Gerardo Luzano, who conducted additional interviews with the girl. He also interviewed Ulibarri by phone. In that interview, Ulibarri reportedly admitted to texting with the girl, but he was never arrested, and no search warrant for Ulibarri’s cell phone was ever obtained by LVPD.
Detectives told the girl’s family that no evidence could be found on the girl’s cell phone, and that there was no evidence to proceed with the case.
The claim alleges that LVPD harassed the girl and her family, showing up unannounced at the girl’s school demanding more interviews and laughing at the girl’s family when they called LVPD to ask for updates in the investigation. LVPD also allegedly accused the girl of having a delinquency problem during the investigation, and regularly patrolled and surveilled the girl’s family.
The claim also alleges that LVPD attempted to “delete and destroy evidence that was corroborative” of the girl’s statements.
After the investigation was transferred to the Office of the Attorney General in March 2020, investigators found a saved contact for Ulibarri on the girl’s phone, as well as screenshots of text message conversations between Ulibarri and the girl.
The screenshots were not saved with her other messages or photos, which “suggested someone had tried to delete the actual text messages” from the girl’s phone, according to the tort claim.
Additionally, two text conversations and revealing photos of the girl were also recovered from the phone, which demonstrated “inappropriate and intimidating” communications, the claim suggests.
A search warrant was issued for records pertaining to phone records of Ulibarri and the girl, which revealed that more than 3,500 text messages were sent back and forth in May 2019.
WLVS Involvement
The claim alleges that WLVS did not do enough to ensure a safe environment for its students, specifically stating that according to district policy, “employees were required to conduct conferences with or concerning students in an appropriate place and manner,” which the girl’s family does not believe happened in this case.
The claim alleges that WLVS “breached its duty” when its employees knew or should have known that Ulibarri was breaching his professional boundaries with the girl, according to the claim.
The family believes that, as a direct result of WLVS “negligence,” the girl suffered physical injuries and damages.
Going Forward
In its claim, the girl and her family have asked the court for compensation for her injuries and damages, and for all court fees to be paid, as well as “any other relief deemed just and proper.”
The claim asks the court for a six-person jury trial to handle this case.
In the criminal case against Ulibarri regarding this matter, a jury trial has been scheduled for September 2021.
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