It took only one day of deliberations for the jury to convict Antonio Gomez, a former physical education teacher, of sexually abusing two teen girls.
Gomez, 41, was convicted Wednesday of 12 counts of lewd acts upon a child. A statement from the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office announced that in addition to the conviction of lewd acts on more than one child, the jury also found Gomez guilty of "substantial sexual contact with one girl under 14 years old.
The lewd count convictions are based on offenses that took place between 2005-2006 and involve two students. At the time of the abuse, they were between the ages of 13 and 15 years old.
Gomez was employed at Robert Louis Stevenson Middle School in Boyle Heights when he was arrested in 2007. At the time, five girls (two of them sisters), came forward to accuse him of sexual acts. Their ages ranged from 13 to 16 years old.
The former teacher had been free since posting bail the day after he was arrested, notes LA Weekly.
Following Wednesday's conviction, Gomez was remanded into custody without bail and is scheduled to be sentenced June 27. He could face a maximum penalty of 22 years in prison.
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