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Justice mallet on wooden desk in a courtroom during a judicial trial. Law concept and empty copy space. Judge hammer
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A Coachella man accused of having an inappropriate relationship with a teenage student over a social media app while employed as a substitute teaching assistant must stand trial on a felony and misdemeanor charge, a judge ruled Tuesday.
Edward Noel Alvarado-Valadez, 28, was charged with one felony count of sending harmful matter to seduce a minor and one misdemeanor count of annoying or molesting a child stemming from crimes that allegedly occurred in November and December of 2019.
At the end of a preliminary hearing on Tuesday, Riverside County Superior Court Judge Dean Benjamini ruled that there was sufficient evidence to warrant a trial for Alvarado-Valadez on both charges.
A post-preliminary hearing arraignment was set for Jan. 5, 2023 at the Larson Justice Center in Indio.
Alvarado-Valadez, who remains out of custody on bond, was arrested in October 2020, following accusations that he had inappropriate contact with a 15- year-old female student at Coachella Valley High School in Thermal.
According to district Superintendent Maria Gandera, Alvarado-Valadez was employed as a substitute instructional support assistant for about 10 months and is no longer working there.
A declaration in support of an arrest warrant prepared by Riverside County Sheriff’s Department Investigator Prezell Burgie alleges that the defendant contacted the female student “via Snapchat and performed a sexual act on himself while on video chat.”
In a prior conversation, Alvarado-Valadez allegedly attempted to meet the student to smoke marijuana with her, and at one point attempted to entice her into meeting in person to have sex, the declaration alleges.
The student eventually reported the alleged incidents to the school, which contacted the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department.
Jail records show Alvarado-Valadez was arrested at Valle Del Sol Elementary School in Coachella, which is also in the Coachella Valley Unified School District.
According to court records, Alvarado-Valadez was charged in a separate case with one felony count of sexual penetration with a foreign object.
